Cyclopean Castle :: ARMENIAN HISTORICAL MONUMENTS

Cyclopean Castle

Azerbaijan / Northern Artsakh / Getabek / Getabek

Description

The archaeological monuments found in the neighbourhood of Getabek include a cyclopean castle which is described by Haupt: “A huge hill, at present covered with a dark forest and overgrown with shrubs, is surrounded by a cyclopean enclosure, sevenfold fortified and built of such immense blocks of stone that it is impossible to understand - just as is often the case with prehistoric structures - how a single block, if not hundreds of them, was raised and placed beside, or above, others. A road, strengthened by ramparts from two sides, extends north-southward through the entire structure. Besides, a secret, partly underground passage stretches from the east to the centre of the castle, the part where the hill grows steeper. It was impossible to find even the main entrance to that fortification: the horses were almost lost in the grass that reached their saddles; nor was it easy to advance in the territory within the enclosure. That structure, standing in the wild thicket, made an awesome and almost formidable impression on us. “On our way back, my companion showed me a number of tombs dating from the Bronze and early Iron Ages. He himself had unearthed them together with some bronze belts decorated with animal reliefs and hunting scenes. Virkhov later made them objects of study in a special academic work.”