ABSTRACT
Azerbaijan has a long and honourable tradition in the study of human remains (Goscharly et al. 2004). Arif Mustafayev and Mammadali Huseinov spent much time working on the Azykh Cave (Fizuli District) material which included the mandible of a Neanderthal female discovered in 1968 and was dated to approximately around 350,000 years ago (Lublin and Bosinski 1995). There has also been a strong tradition of using human material for evidence of ethnic movements within the modern populations. Unfortunately, much of this work has not developed over the past several decades due to lack of support and financial constraints. This chapter is based on a case study that covers the experience of a recent pipeline project in
Azerbaijan and the measures undertaken in relation to human remains. Full archaeological reports are in preparation for the work on the various sites (Maynard et al. forthcoming). The BTC (Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan) pipeline project created a substantial archaeological project
ahead of construction of the pipeline. Although the project extended for up to 1600km through Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, the focus of this chapter is the 440km of the route through Azerbaijan (Figure 4.1). Fieldwork in Azerbaijan took place between 2001 and 2005 and involved the excavation of
over 50 sites. The work unearthed evidence from a range of periods, from the Chalcolithic through to the recent past. During the course of the work approximately 800 burials were located, all of which required appropriate treatment as stipulated by the laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan and international best practice for cultural heritage as defined by the International Lenders to the project. The work was conducted by specialists from the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography
(IoEA), the Academy of Sciences, Baku, and British archaeologists. At the start of the fieldwork programme, it was recognised that the project would encounter human remains and there could be a potential for inadvertent negative reaction if correct procedures were not followed. Advice was taken from local community religious leaders and it was broadly agreed that, if preMuslim bodies were to be found, these could be treated as historical remains, but should be re-buried after archaeological and anthropological study.
