Returning to the field

On his travels through the Caucasus, Jacques de Morgan studied a series of Iron Age burials. Artefacts from these burials are now conserved in the musée d’Archéologie nationale. It was the study of these artefacts that prompted a research team to return to the field.

Research project

From 2012 to 2016, archaeologists resumed excavation work in Azerbaijan as part of the NABIALLA, programme, co-directed by Michèle Casanova (UMR 5133 Archéorient), Christine Lorre (ArScAn - VEPMO)  and Abuzar Alekperov (Académie des Sciences d’Azerbaïdjan). Their aim was to compare the data collected by Jacques de Morgan with the programme’s findings.

In the footsteps of Jacques de Morgan

Archaeologists managed to find some of the structures Morgan had excavated in the 19^thcentury, enabling them to assess the accuracy of his work, complete the archaeological record, and study the archaeological artefacts he had brought back.

Archaeology of the Caucasus

The archaeologists used the latest technological and methodological approaches. They mapped the area and precisely geolocated the sites. Specialists were called in to study the formation of sediment deposits and anthropologists worked on the bones found in the burials.

They also formed ties with international archaeological teams working in the region. This body of research is helping to transform our knowledge of the Bronze Age and Iron Age in the Caucasus region.