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Gobustan Rock Art

Thousands of images carved into rock over millennia, 60 km south of Baku. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2007.

Gobustan petroglyphs
Radosław Botev / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0 pl

More than 6,000 rock carvings have been recorded at the Gobustan reserve. They span from the Stone Age to the Middle Ages: hunting scenes, dancing figures, reed boats, animals and stars.

Ancient dwellings and burials have also been found. One rock bears a 1st-century AD Latin inscription left by a Roman legion — one of the easternmost traces of Rome, on the shore of the Caspian.

The reserve is also known for Gaval Dash, a rock that rings like a tambourine when struck. The "Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape" was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2007.

Sources

  1. UNESCO World Heritage — Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape
  2. Wikipedia

Updated: October 1, 2026

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