Oldest gold artifact in Caucasus

Several days ago, the Heydar Aliyev Center hosted the "Treasures of Azerbaijan: Through the Waves of History" exhibition, where a unique archeological finding was presented - a gold necklace of the Eneolithic Age, which is considered to be the oldest among those found in the territory of the South Caucasus. This necklace was discovered ten years ago during excavations near the village of Dize in the Sharur District, in the territory of the Ovchular ancient settlement. This discovery made scientists believe that ore extraction and copper metallurgy in this region were developed five thousand years ago. Previously, the most ancient gold items were artifacts found in Georgia, dating back to the early Bronze Age.

The "Treasures of Azerbaijan: Through the Waves of History" exhibition presents more than 200 exhibits from the Mesolithic and Bronze Age, archaeological findings of 3-4 millennia BC, weapons of the XVIII-XIX centuries.

Anar Alakbarov, director of the Heydar Aliyev Center, said that the Center became a favorite place of residents and guests of Baku long time ago: "We try to host events, exhibitions, round tables, international conferences. This year we had several exhibitions, and we had a huge attendance. This exhibition is very successful, and we have an exhibit here that became very significant for the Heydar Aliyev Center. Presenting it is an honor."

According to director of the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, Maisa Ragimova, this is the oldest gold artifact in the Caucasus: "Prior to that, there were gold items that dated back to the period close to the second or third millennium. This discovery is greater, because no one discovered an artifact this ancient in the Caucasus. Georgia has an exhibition ike that, but all gold artifacts there are of later period."