Kültepe I is an archaeological site located on the left bank of the Nakhchivan River, some 15 km upstream the junction with the Aras River in the Autonomous Republic of Nakhchivan (Azerbaijan). Kültepe I is one of the few multi-period sites in the South Caucasus with a maximum of 22 m of accumulated occupational layers spreading from the Neolithic-Chalcolithic to the Early Iron Age. It is so far the earliest open-air settlement known in the territory of Nakhchivan and one of the four Neolithic-Chalcolithic settlements excavated in the Aras River Valley. The site is also renowned for the discovery of Halaf-type pottery, often interpreted as the testimony of a Mesopotamian influence in the South Caucasus. The site is otherwise famous for the unexpected find of 85 burials scattered within the Neolithic-Chalcolithic occupation layers. For all these reasons Kültepe I has become a type-site regularly referred to in publications dealing with Caucasian archaeology. Paradoxically, however, little is known about its stratigraphic sequence, the nature of its occupations layers and most aspects of its material culture. Kültepe I was excavated by a team led by O. A. Abibullaev between 1951 and 1964. Preliminary reports were published during the course of the excavations in Russian and Azerbaijani. A book was published in Russian ten years after Abibullaev’s death : if most of the occupation layers are briefly described in this book, detailed studies of the archaeological material are lacking, while very few quantitative data and illustrations are available.
The aim of this project, directed by Dr. Remi Berthon and Prof. Dr. Veli Bakhshaliyev, is thus to publish the finds of the 1951-1964 excavations at Kültepe I in English in a comprehensive manner and to analyse them within the frame of current knowledge on ancient Caucasian societies. Archaeological investigations have dramatically increased in the Caucasus, particularly over the last fifteen years. The material unearthed by O. A. Abibullaev and his team at Kültepe I will be reassessed in the new light cast by the data from recently excavated settlements. Indeed, despite the current growth of archaeological researches in the region, the finds from Kültepe I are still of major importance for interpreting the socio-economic and cultural developments of the South Caucasus between the 6th and 2nd millennia BC. The expected results of this reassessment should fuel the debate on three main issues; 1) the chrono-cultural characterization of the first communities who settled at Kültepe I; and their relationships with the Mesopotamian Neolithic complexes, 2) the significance of the transitional processes at work between the Neolithic and the Chalcolithic periods in the Aras River valley and 3) the nature of the Kuro- Araxes (Early Bronze Age) settlement and its involvement in the exploitation of nearby salt and copper mines.
The aim of this project, directed by Dr. Remi Berthon and Prof. Dr. Veli Bakhshaliyev, is thus to publish the finds of the 1951-1964 excavations at Kültepe I in English in a comprehensive manner and to analyse them within the frame of current knowledge on ancient Caucasian societies. Archaeological investigations have dramatically increased in the Caucasus, particularly over the last fifteen years. The material unearthed by O. A. Abibullaev and his team at Kültepe I will be reassessed in the new light cast by the data from recently excavated settlements. Indeed, despite the current growth of archaeological researches in the region, the finds from Kültepe I are still of major importance for interpreting the socio-economic and cultural developments of the South Caucasus between the 6th and 2nd millennia BC. The expected results of this reassessment should fuel the debate on three main issues; 1) the chrono-cultural characterization of the first communities who settled at Kültepe I; and their relationships with the Mesopotamian Neolithic complexes, 2) the significance of the transitional processes at work between the Neolithic and the Chalcolithic periods in the Aras River valley and 3) the nature of the Kuro- Araxes (Early Bronze Age) settlement and its involvement in the exploitation of nearby salt and copper mines.