The archaeological excavations implemented in Alexana-Ghuze cave complex that is located in south-west of Karintak village at Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) have recorded very valuable results. The researches have displayed that the surface layers of the cave dates back to 50-60 thousand years, at a time when modern human lived with the Neanderthals. Between the 1st century BC and the 1st century AD, the cave was a place of pagan worship. Expedition leader, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Levon Yepiskoposyan, stated that the 95-98 percent of the findings discovered during the excavations of this year represent animal remains. “The most impressive finding was a part of human conch that is still waiting to be studied deeply, as it is preserved very badly, but we are hopeful that we will find some genetic material of the piece”, said the biologist.

According to Yepiskoposyan, as a result of the 2015 excavations in the same cave, archaeologists found human teeth, which belonged to the Neolithic Age. The results of the research revealed that the tooth had 6.5 thousand year old age and belonged to our ancestors. This discovery once again proves the fact of the genetic continuity”, - said the expedition leader and added that the Alexana-Ghuze is one of the unique cave complexes, in which the finds are biologically well preserved, due to the favorable weather conditions.

The excavations in Alexana-Ghuze cave started on August 1 and ended on August 15. The work was done by the Armenian-Polish expedition.

The expedition will be replenished with new specialists in order to make comprehensive researches that allow restoring the details of the inhabitants’ life of the cave, identifying the landscape of the area and so on.