Ancient Architectural Structures of The Karabakh Tribes as Precursors of Early Proto-Towns (3rd–2nd Millennia Bc)

In the 2nd millennium BC, in many regions of Azerbaijan, fortified settlements, that is, settlements with defensive walls emerged in addition to undefended settlements. These include so-called cyclopean structures. They were built along nomadic routes, in lowland regions, and on high-altitude pastures. Such structuresfirst appeared in the Early (Garakopek- Tepe) and Middle (Uzerlik-Tepe, Chinar-Tepe) Bronze Ages (3rd-2nd millennia). The largest number of these structures is located in the lowlands and foothills of Karabakh, as well as in the alpine meadows of the Gedabey and Dashkesen districts, and partially in Kalbajar. Incidentally, Karabakh pastoralists have historically chosen the beautiful alpine meadows of Kelbajar for summer grazing. At the same time, in the second half of the 2nd millennium, the emergence of large settlements with defensive walls reached a more advanced stage. An example of such a large settlement is the Gara-Tepe settlement, located near the Shikhbabaly village in Aghdam district. The settlement, covering an area of over 5 hectares, was located on a high, elongated hill on the right bank of the Gargarchay River. A second settlement of this type (Misir Gishlagy) was recorded near the village of Papravend in Aghdam district. In connection with this question, I would like to stop on another architectural structure discovered near the village of Khojaly. This complex, labyrinthine structure, known as a stone fence, begins near a large standing menhir, 40 meters from the grand Khacha-Tepe kurgan, and extends for a considerable distance. Thus, despite the limited number of fortified points, based on the available data, we can nevertheless estimate the degree of fortification development in the studied area during the Bronze Age.