Maxta (also, ''Makhta'', ''Makhta Kultepe'') is a village and municipality in the

Sharur District Sharur District ( az, Şərur rayonu) is one of the 7 districts of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan. The district borders the districts of Kangarli, Sadarak, as well as the Vayots Dzor and Ararat provinces of Armenia and the W ...

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 t ...

. It is located 7 km in the north-west from the district center, on the plain. Its population is busy with vine-growing, farming and animal husbandry. There are secondary school, library, cultural house and a hospital in the village. It has a population of 2,478. A monument was erected in honor of the compatriots killed in

The Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sout ...

(1941–45). In the north-east of the village, on the right side of the Nakhchivan-Sadarak highway is located the ''Qarabulaq'' necropolis of the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

, and on the left side is located the ancient necropolis of ''Maxta''. The municipality consists of the villages of Maxta and Təzəkənd.

Etymology

According to some researchers, the name is a distorted form of the word of ''Mandeh''. They associated the name of the village with the words of ''mah'' (fortress, camp) and ''deh'' (village) from the Persian and explain it as "the fortress village" or "camp, the village which was built in the ancient residential area". ''Makhta//makta'' in

Turkic languages The Turkic languages are a language family of over 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples of Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia ( Siberia), and Western Asia. The Turkic l ...

, uses in the meaning "the written saying on the board". Apparently, the name of the village has been created in connection with the written stones in the area.''Encyclopedic dictionary of Azerbaijan toponyms''. In two volumes. Volume I. p. 304. Baku: "East-West". 2007. .

Historical and archaeological monuments

Makhta Kultepe I

Maxta Kültəpəsi I - the settlement of the first

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

near the Makhta village of the Sharur region. Was registered in 1985. It is composed from the hill of the 2 m high from ground surface is limited with sown areas, from the west side by the channel. At the result of archaeological excavations (100 m2) were achieved remains of building built with stone and mud-brick, samples of a gray colored pots, grain stones, teeth of sickle made from obsidian and flint, the obsidian arrow heads, graters, remains of the hearth plant etc. During the studies with characteristic exploration, from the settlement were found an ancient temple built from stone, and the stone idols inside the temple. According to the findings, the monument belongs to the 2nd half of 4th millennium of BC - to the 3rd millennium of BC.

Makhta Kultepe II

Maxta Kültəpəsi II - the settlement of the early

(2nd half of the 4th millennium of BC - 3rd millennium of BC) in the west from the Makhta village of the Sharur region. Among the local people it is called as Qortculu place. At the result of researches were collected fractures of the pink and gray colored clay pots, parts of the hearth plants etc. The discovered samples of the material culture is typical for ''Kura-Aras'' culture and is identified with the ''Maxta Kültəpəsi I''.

Makhta Necropolis

Maxta Necropolis - the ancient monument in the north-east of the Makhta village of Sharur region, in the left side of the Nakhchivan-Sadarak highway. The pitcher graves belonging to the Necropolis were discovered on the hill where the water pool is located (1988). Unfortunately, only fracture of the one of the pots from the pitcher graves (the gray colored jug-type pot made of clay, covered with pink paint in both sight) was kept. It is supposed that the monument belongs to the 2-3 centuries.

Garabulag Necropolis

Garabulag Necropolis - the ancient archaeological monument in north of the Maxta village of the Sharur region, at the foot of the mountain. The associated with works of Amelioration and construction, the several mounds-type monuments were destroyed. In one of the mounds, the burial camera is consist from the stone box. It was determined that its walls has been built with small stones without the use of mortar fixing. The length of the camera is 4 м, width is 1.25 м, height is 1.30 м. Horse skeletons were found inside the tomb, and were discovered a bronze dagger, limestone, 4 pieces blue beads made from solution, 3 pieces jugs in large and medium-sized, 3 pieces bowls, vase, mug and kettle-style pottery. The findings which belongs to the end of the

and early

of Nakhchivan, are similar with the archaeological materials of monuments of ''Maxta, Şahtaxtı, Şortəpə, Oğlanqala''.

References

* {{Sharur District Populated places in Sharur District Archaeological sites in Azerbaijan