Bailov Rocks

(in Russian, Bailovskie Kamni), a fortification in the Bay of Baku in the Caspian Sea, dating from 1234–35. In the 1920’s, when the level of the Caspian fell, the ruins of this structure, which had become inundated at an early time, were discovered—fragments of walls with towers encircling an inner courtyard extending from north to south (with an area of 40 m by 180 m) and containing the ruins of various buildings. On their outer perimeter the walls bore a stone frieze in bas-relief with inscriptions and representations of animals, mythical creatures, and human heads, varying in style and quality. Several hundred stone plates or sections of this frieze have been found.