Nahajir settlement and necropolis are related to the middle the Bronze Age; they are located between Nahajir Mountain and Nahajir village in the territory of modern Julfa district. The settlement and the necropolis are located on approximately 10 hectares territory. Grey and pink colored ceramics related to middle Bronze Age, also colored plates and other ground-based materials of the Middle Age have been found there. Remainders of stone constructions in the cuts which occurred in the result of natural etching, colored plates, labor tools and osteologic remainders were found in Nahajir settlement. The thickness of the civilized layer in the settlement is more than 3 meters. Pestles, sets, grain stones, reaping hooks, colored monochrome plates were found from the monument. Nahajir’s colored plates mostly have black color geometrical ornaments. Semantic characters also could be found among these ornaments. One of such semantic plots is a picture of a man lifted his hands towards the sky holding a cord attached to a goat. Probably, a praying man had been described here. It is possible that this description is one of ancient mythological plots in tribes which have lived in Nakhchevan territory. Colored plates found from Nahajir settlement were related to XVIII-XV centuries BC by O.Habubullayev, to XVIII-XVII centuries BC by V.Aliyev, to second part of the third millennium and the beginning second millennium BC by A.Seyidov and V.Bakhshaliyev. Ornaments related to I Kultepe ceramics and decorations with the themes of Gamigaya descriptions were found on Nahajir plates, what proves that the pottering art of the kins lived in this region and ceramics decoration were based on local geometric factors. Bucket kind of plates related to early Bronze Age, could be considered as prototype of colored plates spread in the middle Bronze Age. Pink primed plates characteristic to Kur-Araz culture were found in Nahajir territory, what testifies about subproto features of ceramics handicraft. Nahajir ceramics continued the civilized heritage of ancient tribes which lived in the Nakhchivan territory in early Bronze Age and had carried local character and continued the subprotogeometric traditions of the same kins. Colored plate culture was popular in Asia, Near East, Southern and North Caucasus. It is necessary to note that auropigment and realgar minerals used in monochrome and polychrome colors of decorated plates were spread only in Julfa district. This shows that ancient Nahajir craftsmen continued the potter traditions; their innovations in the production of colored plates have shown positive influence to neighboring territories.

Nahajir necropolis cemetery is located in the east end of the settlement. Necropolis is surrounded by Nahajir Mountain in the north, a settlement of Bronze Age in the west, Nahajir village in south, a ground road in the east. Ground-based signs of graves here have been destroyed. But 9-11 meters diameter cromlechs still remain. A few graves in the necropolis have been destroyed. The necropolis cromlech’s investigation showed that a grave cell consisted of oval pits located in the ground. Materials found from Nahajir necropolis consist of monochrome colored jug and bowl kind of plates. Also, ceramic products patterned with pushing technique were found. Necropolis mostly consists of land and stone barrows. Different geometrical patterns, descriptions of man and animals on the monochrome colored plates found in barrows are similar with Gamigaya descriptions’ group.

http://www.azerbaijanarcheology.com/2010/04/subprotogeometric-features-of-nahacir-ceramics/