Goljik Cave

Goljik Cave is located 35 kilometres southwest of the city of Zanjan, in the heights overlooking the village of Goljik, which belongs to the same county. The cave currently has no road access and can only be reached on foot. It was formed naturally through the erosion of limestone, and thanks to its favourable climate it was used in prehistoric times as a shelter and dwelling by humans.

This vast cave, measuring roughly 700 by 100 metres with a height of about 50 metres, is considered one of the most important ancient habitation sites. Traces of human life from various prehistoric periods have been discovered inside it, including the Acheulean through to the Baradostian periods (between 16,000 and 30,000 years BC). Stone blades, a variety of tools and implements, and the remains of hunted animal bones are regarded as evidence of early human civilisations in this cave.

Among the most important finds in the cave are the architectural remains inside it, which point to the enclosing of living spaces, the marking of boundaries, and even the delineation of property limits at that time. This evidence shows that the people who lived in this region organised their living spaces not only for survival but also with a kind of early social order, which is highly valuable from an archaeological point of view.