Gobustan Kichikdash South Petroglyphs
Kiçikdaş Cənub Qobustan · Kichikdash South Gobustan · Kyanizadag South
Upper Palaeolithic to Iron Age·Gobustan hunters, Kura-Araxes, Classical (Roman contact)·🇦🇿 Gobustan District, Gobustan State Reserve, Kichikdash Mountain south slope, Azerbaijan
About
About Gobustan Kichikdash South Petroglyphs
South slope of Kichikdash (Little Stone) Mountain core of the Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape (UNESCO 1076), comprising 90 boulders with 1100+ petroglyphs on limestone: Upper Palaeolithic aurochs hunters, Neolithic boat with 15 rowers (c.5000 BCE), Bronze bulls, and Roman Legio XII inscription (75 CE) on the main cliff 400 m north — but south slope is distinct with densest concentration of reed-boat and aurochs hunt panels, plus circular pit mortars (cupules) used for ochre preparation. South slope panels face prevailing Caspian wind, giving deeper desert varnish patina contrast than Boyukdash north. Excavated by Isaak Jafarzada 1939 and Djafargulu Rustamov.
Why it mattersSouth Kichikdash with classic Gobustan boat and aurochs hunt, UNESCO core with ochre cupule workshop.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Neolithic boat crew interpretation
- 02Roman legion passage link
Theories
- 01Caspian shore ceremonial aggregation
- 02Reed-boat prestige display of Neolithic fishermen
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.12000–1000 BCE peak with Neolithic boat (Upper Palaeolithic to Iron Age)
- Period
- Upper Palaeolithic to Iron Age
- Culture
- Gobustan hunters, Kura-Araxes, Classical (Roman contact)
- Builders
- Gobustan semi-desert hunter-pastoralists and Caspian fishers
- Purpose
- Caspian shore ritual aggregation and reed-boat display at windward varnished cliff
- Abandoned
- c.1000 BCE
- Rediscovered
- 1939 Jafarzada discovery; 1966 UNESCO survey; 2016 Farajova monograph
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.10000 BCE
Aurochs hunt pecking peak
c.5000 BCE
Reed-boat with rowers carved
75 CE
Roman Centurion inscription nearby (Legio XII)
On the ground
Structures & features
40.1080° N · 49.3950° E · 410 m · 2 mapped features
Kichikdash South — Reed-Boat Panel (Boulder KD-18)
petroglyph panel1.2-m limestone boulder with 15-oar reed-boat, steersman and sun disc above, Neolithic
40.1090° N · 49.3960° EKichikdash South — Aurochs Hunt Frieze (Cliff KS-4)
petroglyph panel2.5-m vertical panel with aurochs, hunters with spears and dogs, Upper Palaeolithic
40.1070° N · 49.3940° E
Gallery