Staff members of the ANAS Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology and lecturers of Khazar University's Department of History and Archaeology, Dr. Yagub Mammadov and Ulviyya Safarova, along with Mustafa Khalilov, a second-year student of the School of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences (HESS), took part in the third season of joint international archaeological research conducted at the Taglar Cave, located in the village of Boyuk Taglar in the Khojavend district, from July 25 to August 25, 2026, based on an agreement concluded between the ANAS Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology and the University of Tokyo. As in previous years, Dr. Mammadov and Ulviyya Safarova also took part in the research conducted in 2024–2025.

The cave was first recorded in 1960 by Mammadali Huseynov, the founder of Azerbaijani paleolithic studies. As a result of research carried out intermittently between 1964 and 1986, two-thirds of the cave's existing sediment layers were studied. During this research, more than 9,000 archaeological samples were discovered across six identified cultural layers, the vast majority of which belong to the Middle Paleolithic period. As a result of research led by Azad Zeynalov, Associate Professor and leading researcher at the ANAS Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, and, on the Japanese side, Professor Yoshihiro Nishiaki, Director of the University of Tokyo Museum and Deputy Director for the Interdisciplinary Promotion of Geo-cosmological Research at the Chiba Institute of Technology, the absolute majority of the cave's cultural layers have been attributed to the Middle Paleolithic (Mousterian culture) period, although Upper Paleolithic samples have also been recorded. While material evidence confirms that people lived in the cave at least 100,000–35,000 years ago, radiometric analyses are currently being conducted to determine the absolute age. Thus, the study of the Taglar Cave holds great importance not only for examining the migration and settlement of Neanderthal-type humans, but also for clarifying their relationship with modern-type humans. To this end, multidisciplinary research is being carried out, applying modern excavation techniques and methods.

It should be noted that, within the framework of a large-scale volunteer program carried out on the initiative of the ANAS Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology and based on the recommendation of his lecturers, Khazar's student Mustafa Khalilov is taking part in the joint research together with Tural Safiyev, a third-year student of the Faculty of Arts and Physical Education of Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University (ASPU), and Anar Safiyev, a fourth-year student of the Faculty of Economics and Management of Ganja State University (GSU). The participation of students in the Azerbaijan–Japan joint archaeological research at the Taglar Cave holds significant importance both scientifically and socially. Their involvement in the expedition gives young people the opportunity to test their theoretical knowledge in a practical setting, become familiar with archaeological methods, and gain experience in an international cooperation environment. This process contributes to strengthening the country's professional personnel potential in the field of archaeology in the future, increasing young people's interest in scientific activity, and studying the national-cultural heritage.