Azerbaijan discovers medieval Muslim cemetery in Khojavand

A medieval Muslim cemetery was discovered in the Khojavand District of Azerbaijan.

The announcement came online by the Institute of Archeology, Ethnography and Anthropology, operating under the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS), according to Report.

On October 15 last year, the institute received information about the discovery of human remains near the village of Arakul (Khatai) of the Khojavend region. The information was provided by the employees of Caspian Geomatic LLC, operating in the territory.

Vusal Hasanov, an employee of the Khojavand-Fizuli archaeological expedition, together with representatives of relevant agencies conducted a survey of the territory on behalf of the institute's management. The discovered human remains are located on natural hills in the north of Arakul village of Khojavand district.

During the preliminary examination of the skeletons, it was determined that the grave dates back to the Middle Ages (XIII-XV centuries).

The Armenian cemetery in the village of Arakul dates back to the XIX-XX century. This relates to their settlement in this village in the 40s of the XIX century. The findings suggest that the Muslim population lived in this area long before Armenians.

The village of Arakul in the Khojavand region was variously known as Kharakul, Kara-Kuzay and Arakel. According to historical data, the village was inhabited by Armenian families who migrated in 1840 from the Sevakar village of the Garadagh district of Southern Azerbaijan and the Kafan district of the Yerevan region. After Azerbaijani families who were evicted from Armenia settled in the village in 1988, at the request of the population the village was renamed Khatai after the Azerbaijani poet and prominent figure of the Safavid state Shah Ismail Khatai.