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

Ismailli Rayon Ismayilli District () is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the north of the country, in the Mountainous Shirvan Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Qabala, Quba, Goychay, Kurdamir, Agsu, Shamakhi, an ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

, 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 * January 1 ** Spanish rule formally ends in Cuba with the cession of Spanish sovereignty to the U.S., concluding 400 years of the Spanish Empire in the Americas.''The American Monthly Review of Reviews'' (February 1899), p ...

a silver plate (24 cm in diameter) was also accidentally found during excavations near the village. The plate depicts a mounted

Nereid In Greek mythology, the Nereids or Nereides ( ; ; , also Νημερτές) are sea nymphs (female spirits of sea waters), the 50 daughters of the ' Old Man of the Sea' Nereus and the Oceanid Doris, sisters to their brother Nerites. They ofte ...

, surrounded by tritons and

cupid In classical mythology, Cupid ( , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus and the god of war Mars. He is also known as Amor (Latin: ...

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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

toreutics. 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, and holds the large ...

Notes

References

External links

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