History, Archeology and Ethnography of the Caucasus

Gobustan is a rich archaeological area where people lived at different period, thousands of rock paintings, dozens of sites, settlements, tombs and other monuments of different historical periods have preserved. Ovchular shelter takes a special place among these caves, which is date back to the Stone and Bronze ages, approximately before VI-IV Millenniums B.C. according to some archeologists.

Hence, the question of study of rock images of this complex with using geological and archaeological data for reconstruction the archaeological landscape of upper terrace of Boyukdash Mountain is extremely important challenge. 

The archaeologists Dj. Russtamov and F. Muradova started first field works in the Ovchular cave. On the walls of the cave displayed hunting scenes, battle, ritual dances. Discovered archaeological artefacts and images by archaeologists show that habitat indications of human in the cave presumably date back to the period of domestication of animals.

During field works for night photography in 2004 here were discovered new petroglyphs – 2 figures of ibexes. A special interest represent dotted recesses engraved under one figure of animal.  No doubt that this cave used for specific rituals and magic procedures.

Archaeologists date back this shelter by the period of transition from the Mesolithic to Neolithic. Discovered fragments of vessel from mixed coarse clay let researchers suppose about settling of this cave in the Bronze Age also. As a result of geological research in the western coast of the Caspian Sea, it was also possible to determine the transgression which observed 6 thousand years ago, and the beginning of  regression which observed 4 thousand years ago ,so the retreat of the sea. Thus, while the lower terraces of  Boyukdash mountain  were periodically washed by the historical Caspian Sea and  could not reach to the upper terraces, in particular, to the Ovchular site.