Medieval Muslim cemetery discovered in Azerbaijan's Khojavand

A medieval Muslim cemetery was discovered in Khojavand, Azerbaijan, Report informs, citing the ANAS Institute of Archaeology, Ethnography and Anthropology.

On October 15, 2022, the institute received information about the discovery of human remains in the territory of Arakul (Khatai) village of the Khojavand district from the employees of Caspian Geomatic LLC operating in the area.

Under the instructions of the institute's management, Vusal Hasanov, an employee of the Khojavand-Fuzuli archaeological expedition, inspected the area together with the representatives of the relevant institutions. The discovered human remains are located on a hill in the north of Arakul village of Khojavand region. Human remains were found on the sides of the dirt road that connects Arakul with the neighboring villages.

During the construction of the dirt road, the cemetery area on the hill was divided into two parts. The graves that were on the road were destroyed. The upper soil level of the cemetery is located at an average height of 3-4 meters above the road.

One of the graves traced on the wall was opened by an archaeologist in order to determine the age of the cemetery and burial customs. It was found that although the skeleton's skull was lost during the sliding process, other bones preserved their anatomical shape. Burial in the grave belonging to an elderly person was carried out according to Islamic rules. The grave is 2.10 m below the existing ground level.

During the preliminary examination of skeletons by archaeologist-anthropologist Vusal Hasanov, it was determined that the cemetery belonged to the Middle Ages (XIII-XV).

The cemetery belonging to Armenians in the village of Arakul dates back to the 19th and 20th centuries. This is due to their settlement here in the 40s of the XIX century. The obtained evidence proves that the Muslim population lived in this area long before the Armenians.

The Arakul village of the Khojavand district was known as Harakul, Kara Guzey, Arakel at different times. According to historical data, in 1840, Armenian families who moved from Sevakar village in the Garadagh district of South Azerbaijan and Gafan district of Iravan province settled in the village. After Azerbaijani families expelled from Armenia settled in the village in 1988, at the request of the population, the settlement was named Khatai in honor of the Azerbaijani poet and prominent figure of the Safavid state, Shah Ismayil Khatai.