Qalagah (also az, 'Qələyə', Qalaya, Kalaga, and Kalagyakh) is a village and municipality in the

Ismailli Rayon Ismayilli District ( az, İsmayıllı rayonu) is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the north of the country and belongs to the Mountainous Shirvan Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Qabala, Quba, Goych ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

, situated 28 km to the south-west from the rayon centre, on the forepart of Ajinohur mountain. It has a population of 991. A 1st or 2nd century-related settlement with an area of ca. 30 ha and a cemetery are near Qalagah. In

1899 Events January 1899 * January 1 ** Spanish rule ends in Cuba, concluding 400 years of the Spanish Empire in the Americas. ** Queens and Staten Island become administratively part of New York City. * January 2 – **Bolivia sets up a c ...

a silver plate (24 cm in diameter) was also accidentally found during excavations near the village. The plate depicts a mounted Nereid, surrounded by tritons and

cupid In classical mythology, Cupid (Latin Cupīdō , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, lust, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus (mythology), Venus and the god of war Mar ...

s. Based on its technique and artistic characteristics, the plate is a 2nd or 3rd century example of

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

toreutics The term ''toreutics'', relatively rarely used in English, refers to artistic metalworking – hammering gold or silver (or other materials), engraving, or using repoussé and chasing to form minute detailed reliefs or small engraved patterns. To ...

. The plate is supposed to be either a trade article of the

Caucasian Albania Caucasian Albania is a modern exonym for a former state located in ancient times in the Caucasus: mostly in what is now Azerbaijan (where both of its capitals were located). The modern endonyms for the area are ''Aghwank'' and ''Aluank'', among ...

rulers or a gift from the Roman emperors. The artifact was sent to the Imperial Archaeological Commission, then to the

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the list of ...

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References

External links

Qalagah location info
{{Ismailli Rayon Archaeological sites in Azerbaijan Caucasian Albania Populated places in Ismayilli District