On the left bank of the Kura River in Mingachevir, there is a large archaeological monument - the ancient settlement of Azerbaijan -Sudağılan, the name of which translates as the place of a water spill.
In the XIX century, there was a small settlement consisting of residential and welfare buildings. In the 1930s, it was decided to build a reservoir and create a hydroelectric power station. It was during the excavations that ancient buildings were found. After the arrival of archeologists, it became clear that the builders accidentally discovered a real treasure: the ruins of urban-type settlements dating from the I-VIII centuries AD, as well as buildings that can be attributed to the IV-III millennia BC.
The longer the work was carried out, the more interesting artifacts were found in the settlement of Sudağılan: ruins of houses built from raw bricks, tools made of stone, metal and bone, various household items, faience products, clay, glass and silver dishes, ancient coins cast in the Middle Ages. Incredibly beautiful jewelry made of gold and silver were found in some burials. All this indicated that for many centuries there was a city, quite rich and prosperous, whose inhabitants mastered various crafts and were engaged in trade.
The main architectural value of Sudağılan is a group of religious buildings located in the center of the settlement. The large temple with a prayer hall was once beautifully decorated with stucco painted with plant colors. Its one and a half meter walls were made of raw bricks, while a small mausoleum, hidden inside the temple, was already built of fired bricks. Opposite the entrance to the temple was a stone capital with two peacocks depicted on it. Presumably, this temple was built in the V-VI centuries, but who it was dedicated to is still a mystery.
Most likely, Sudağılan was the progenitor of the modern Mingachevir. The rich and developed ancient city that was destroyed and forgotten for reasons yet to be determined.