Aul kaya

The site was registered in 1989. During the field survey it was established that remains of clay plaster were visible on the levelled front of the rock. Traces of archaeological structures were also noted on the saddle west of the rocky rise, and numerous finds were collected on the southern slope.

Archaeological excavations were carried out from 24 April to 15 June 2007 under the scientific direction of Assoc. Prof. Georgi Nekhrizov. The site was divided into three sectors.

In the western sector a dark grey, loose sediment rich in archaeological material was found. The cultural deposits lie west of the rock and are most intense in the far south-west, where they reach a thickness of 0.80 m. The layer is homogeneous and no separate stratigraphic levels can be distinguished in it. Two almost parallel rows of large rock fragments were uncovered. They begin at the foot of the rocky rise, run north-east to south-west across the saddle and reach the rock step with which the rock ends to the south. The space between the rows is filled with a large quantity of stones of different sizes, and the dark grey layer lies mainly between the two rows, which rest on the bedrock.

On the rock platform several layers of plaster had been laid directly on the rock surface. In its southern part a cultural layer almost 1 m thick is preserved, consisting mainly of dark brown loose earth with two patches of grey ashy earth. Clusters of collapsed plaster were found at various places and depths. Ritual hearths had been built repeatedly, and two of them are preserved in situ. Beneath one hearth, built on a base of slab stones and potsherds, lay a cluster of animal bones and pottery. Vessels and small objects had been deposited in the crevices of the rock.