Ancient Gabala
Qədim Qəbələ
Azerbaijan · Gabala
In brief
The site, one of the capitals of Caucasian Albania, encompasses the Güllütala, Selbir and Qala sections; the coordinate refers to the Qala section. These sections have different periods of use, and the UNESCO Tentative List dossier traces the overall development from approximately the 5th century BC to the 18th century AD.
What was found?
- 1Large storage jars
Numerous large jars were found in a large storage building dated to the 4th–3rd centuries BC. This arrangement indicates large-scale food storage.
- 2Coins minted elsewhere
Coins of Alexander the Great, Seleucid coins and Parthian coins were found around the city. They document economic connections with different monetary traditions.
- 3Local Albanian coins
Local Caucasian Albanian coins imitating Hellenistic coin types were found. These are inconsistent with older accounts claiming that money was unknown in the region.
- 4Oval-plan buildings
The oval buildings at Güllütala are notable architectural remains of the settlement. According to researchers, they may have been associated with communal ceremonies, meetings or performances; their functions remain uncertain.
- 5Remains of buildings with tiled roofs
Traces of tiled roofing were identified in administrative buildings and dwellings. The finds provide information about building types and techniques in the city's architecture.
What does it point to?
The storage buildings and coins of Gebele indicate an urban economy that accumulated produce and participated in regional exchange networks. Oval structures and administrative buildings show that spaces for collective use existed alongside dwellings.
What did it teach us?
- Provided concrete documentation of money use and local coin production in Caucasian Albania.
- Showed the role of large-scale food storage in urban life.
- Added new examples of oval-plan buildings to the diversity of urban architecture in the Caucasus.
Images
Latest news / selected archive
In 2026, the discovery was announced in the Qala section of the remains of a palace-type public building constructed from large dressed stone blocks and attributed to the Albanian period.
Record
- Culture
- Caucasian Albania and subsequent Islamic-period communities
- First modern dig
- 1926
- Team / historical
- Qafar Cəbiyev; Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, Qala excavations
- Coordinates
- 40.8848°, 47.7061°
Sources
- whc.unesco.org
- seba.az
- arxeologiya.az
- arxeologiya.az
- Azerbaycan Millî Bilimler Akademisi — akademik bildiri kitabı
Nearby excavations
- Azykh Cave / Azokh Cave 153 km
- Areni-1 Cave 248 km
- Erebuni Fortress 280 km
- Dmanisi 286 km
- Ani 352 km
- Ayanis Fortress 454 km
- —
- —
- 12.000
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