The Petroglyph Museum, Archaeological museum in Gobustan National Park, Azerbaijan

The Petroglyph Museum is a building designed by the Latvian firm El Studio and opened in 2011 within the Gobustan State Historical and Cultural Reserve. Its exhibition hall is divided into sections, including one on Gobustan as a UNESCO World Heritage site, and its permanent exhibition occupies 12 rooms. The museum also holds a collection of over 100,000 archaeological objects.

The museum was commissioned by Azerbaijan's Ministry of Culture in 2010, designed and built by the Latvian firm El Studio, and opened on 26 December 2011 by President Ilham Aliyev. Its 12 exhibition rooms present the archaeology and history of the Gobustan petroglyphs, and in 2013 it received a Special Award from the European Museum Forum.

The permanent exhibition fills 12 rooms covering the archaeology and art of the Gobustan petroglyphs, with interactive displays and multilingual touchscreens. A 3D virtual flight over the reserve lets visitors see the carved rocks from above, and the collection holds over 100,000 archaeological objects.

The museum lies inside the Gobustan State Historical and Cultural Reserve, so the indoor galleries and the open-air rock carvings are visited on the same trip. The 45-seat 3D cinema and a 3D virtual flight over the reserve give an overview before you walk the site. Multilingual touchscreens and interactive displays help orient visitors; allow time for both the 12 exhibition rooms and the surrounding rocks.

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.