Garaaghach Cemetery
Location: Ahmadavar, Aghdam
Condition Assessment
Status: Destroyed
Located in Ahmadavar, in the Aghdam district, this cemetery is not listed on the Republic of Azerbaijan's official registry of heritage sites, though it contained four 19 th-century mausolea on the heritage sites registry, three of which CHW documented as destroyed ( a , b , c ). CHW included the cemetery in this analysis due to its well-documented historical, archaeological, and cultural importance. The cemetery was the focus of an archaeological expedition during the 1920s. 1
Comparison of Hexagon satellite imagery dated August 1980 2 with satellite imagery captured in February 2004 3 shows that no major change to the territory of the cemetery took place in this period.
Drag the swipe tool right to see the cemetery in August 1980; 2 drag left to see the cemetery in February 2004. 3
The situation remained the same until December 2011. But at some point between December 2011 and June 2014, nearly all the mausolea of the cemetery and other major structures were destroyed.
Drag right to see the cemetery in December 2011; 4 drag left to see the cemetery in June 2014. 5
The destruction of the cemetery continued after 2014 as well, and by the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War the cemetery was already mostly destroyed. The 2016 satellite image shows fire and widespread burning in the area of the cemetery.
Drag right to see the cemetery in August 2016; 6 drag left to see the cemetery in August 2020. 7
Geolocation
The cemetery is marked on a 1:25K scale topographic map of 1952. 8
The cemetery on a 1:25K scale map of 1952. 8
References
1 Александрович Дж., Азимбеков И., Сысоев В. М., Евлах-Шуша: археологический очерк: отдельный оттиск из 3-го выпуска "Известий Азкомстариса". АЗКОМСТАРИС. Баку: [б. и.], 1928, p. 7-8.
2 KH-9 Hexagon, D3C1216-200431F030, August 11, 1980.
3 Google Earth and Maxar Technologies, February 8, 2004.
4 Google Earth and Maxar Technologies, December 28, 2011.
5 Google Earth and Maxar Technologies, June 14, 2014.
6 Google Earth and Maxar Technologies, August 9, 2016.
7 Google Earth and Maxar Technologies, August 4, 2020.
8 1:25K scale topographic map of the General Directorate of Geodesy and Cartography of USSR Ministries’ Council (Sheet A-38-10-B-a, 1952).
