Ana Zağa Kampı

Ana zağa camp or Ai camp cave — a natural shelter, cave, in the area of the Gobustan State Historical and Artistic Reserve. Because numerous ancient paintings are present on the walls of this cavity resembling a semi‑open cave and on the adjacent cliffs, the first researcher of Gobustan rock art, Ishaq Jafarzade, gave this place the name “Ana zağa”.

Research

The Ana zağa camp is located in the upper slope area of Mount Böyükdaş, among rocks numbered 29, 30, 31, 32 on which ancient rock paintings have been recorded, and was discovered in a large two‑eye underground cavity.

Archaeological excavations have revealed three main cultural layers that differ lithologically in the deposits of Ana zağa. The lower (Mesolithic) and middle (Neolithic) cultural layers found in the central part of the excavation area were separated from the upper mixed layer, which dates from the end of the Neolithic to the early Middle Ages, by a 10 cm thick sterile layer. The lower layer, containing Mesolithic period material, is up to 1 meter thick, sometimes up to 1.2 meters. This layer consisted of loess that is brownish, cemented, and contains fragments of rock – limestone. There is no sterile layer between the upper middle layer, belonging to the transition from the end of the Mesolithic to the early Neolithic, and the lower Mesolithic layer.

The middle layer consists of a soil layer 0.2–0.6 meter thick, softer and brownish in color compared to the lower layer.

In the Ana Zağa camp, cultural layers (lower and middle) belonging to the Stone Age were discovered in the area excavated in 1965 and 1966, mainly in the central part of the camp, at the southern foot of rock number 30 that forms its northern wall. The dangerous situation created by the displacement of the rocks surrounding the camp, which occurred in the 7th–6th millennia BC, prevented access to the lower (Mesolithic) cultural layer at any excavation site.

The lower layer at the excavation site represents the transition from Upper Paleolithic to Mesolithic and the early Mesolithic, while the middle layer mainly belongs to the Mesolithic and the transition from Mesolithic to Neolithic. The absence of a sterile layer between the lower and middle layers is related to the lack of a long hiatus between their periods of formation. The difference in lithological composition and colour of the layers is probably due to natural climate change. This is also confirmed by the close similarity, identity and complementarity between the main archaeological materials of the layers—stone tools and fauna remains.

Findings

Because of the similarity of the materials of the lower and middle layers of Ana Zağa and the scarcity of specimens that are a definite indicator of the difference between periods, most of the camp’s Neolithic findings are presented among Mesolithic artifacts.

Archaeological excavations at Ana Zağa have shown that from the late Upper Paleolithic through the early Mesolithic and in all subsequent historical phases there was either long‑term or short‑term habitation. More than two thousand items obtained from the archaeological excavations at “Ana Zağa” consist of flint, chert and, to a lesser extent, bone and other materials used for tools, as well as other purpose‑related finds.

More than 600 small-sized (height mainly 1.5 – 3.0 cm; rarely up to 5 cm) nuclei made of flint have been found in the shelter.

In addition, coal samples have also been collected from the hearth located in the Ana Zağa shelter for analysis.

In August 2022, a foot bone of a 5-6-year-old child dating to before the Mesolithic period was found.