The Petroglyph Museum, Archaeological museum in Gobustan National Park, Azerbaijan
The Petroglyph Museum is a modern building with glass panels located within Gobustan National Park that overlooks the surrounding rock carvings. The structure connects indoor exhibitions directly to the natural landscape containing over 6,000 prehistoric engravings carved into the rock faces.
The museum was established in 2011 and documents rock engravings whose origins date back over 12,000 years. These petroglyphs represent a long record of human settlement and activity across multiple millennia in this region.
The exhibition rooms display scenes from the daily lives of ancient peoples carved into the surrounding rocks. Visitors encounter hunting sequences, ritual dances, and depictions of social gatherings that reveal how people lived in this region thousands of years ago.
The building houses a cinema with 3D film screenings that provides an immersive overview of the region's history. Plan to spend adequate time exploring both the indoor exhibits and the carved rocks visible throughout the surrounding park.
The rock carvings also document major climate shifts that occurred in the region thousands of years ago. Researchers study these ancient images to understand how the environment transformed and shaped the lives of the people who lived here.
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