Under the leadership of Lachin Mustafayev, PhD in History, lecturer at Khazar University's Department of History and Archaeology and senior researcher at the National Museum of History of Azerbaijan under the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the first substantial and exploratory archaeological excavations were carried out by the Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS), from July 2-30, 2026, at the "Tahmazi" ancient settlement — dating to the late antique and medieval periods — located in the territory of the village of Sabatlar in the Guba district. The "Tahmazi" settlement was discovered in 2022 during research conducted in the northeastern region of Azerbaijan.

During the archaeological excavations, two exploratory pits were dug at the "Tahmazi" settlement. Various types of ceramic fragments, stone tools (grinding stones, weight stones), and faunal remains (bird and animal bones) were obtained from both excavation areas. Among the interesting archaeological finds discovered are the foundation and wall remains of various structures made of mudbrick, river stones, and fired bricks, traced in exploratory pit No. 2. The well-preserved fired-brick wall remains are 90-92 cm wide, with a height of 25-27 cm, consisting of three bricks stacked on top of each other. During the tracing of cultural layers at a depth of 1.7–2.1 meters, hearth sites, flooring, a small-diameter storage pit, and other features were observed.

The main goal of the archaeological research is to comprehensively study the emergence of settlements and urban culture in the northeastern region of Azerbaijan during the ancient and early medieval periods, the characteristic features of our material heritage and archaeological monuments, the population's economic life, including the settlement of various peoples in the region as a result of political processes, the migration of nomadic peoples, and the region's economic and cultural relations established with various civilizations and states.