Report on the Activities of the First Field Season of the Joint Shida Kartli Project (Ca’ Foscari University Venice, Tbilisi State University, Georgia State Museum)
The first field season of the Shida Kartli project of the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (Italy) in cooperation with the Georgian National Museum and the Tbilisi State University (Georgia) took place from August the 26th to October the 2nd. The Italian team was composed of the following members: prof. Elena Rova (Ca’ Foscari University Venice, Italy, chief of the team), Eleonora Carminati, Giulia De Nobili and Mirko Furlanetto (MA students in Near Eastern Archaeology at Ca’ Foscari University), and dr. Luca Bertoldi (University of Padova, geomorphologist). The Georgian team consisted of: prof. Marina Puturidze (Department of Archaeology Tbilisi State University, Georgia, chief of the Georgian team), Nikoloz Gobejishvili and Joseph Papuashvili (MA student at Tbilisi State University), Tamar Meladze, George Khaburzania, Nikoloz Chaduneli and Nino Kobalia (BA students at Tbilisi State University). Dr. Z. Makharadze (Georgian National Museum, Centre of Archaeology- Head of Field Research Department) acted as a representative of the Georgian National Museum.
The main of the season was the study of the material from the EBA levels of the settlement of Natsargora in the Khashuri district of the Shida Kartli province. The site had been excavated in 1984-1989 by the late A. Ramishvili of the Khashuri Archaeological expedition, but its EBA levels and graves had been the subject only of very preliminary publications in AAR (Ramishvili 1991, 1995). The importance of the Nastargora material lies in the fact that it might bring new light on a still poorly understood and widely debated chronological phase, namely the transition between the Kura-Araxes culture and the following Early Kurgan (Bedeni) culture. As a matter of fact, Natsargora is one of the few sites (together with Tsikiagora, whose EB levels have been published by Z. Macharadze, and Berikldeebi, whose EB layers are in course of publication by M. Jalabadze, and Badaani settlement, excavated by G. Mirtskhulava) where not only Bedeni ceramics have been discovered in a settlement context, but also a certain degree of continuity is supposed between the Kura-Araxes and the Bedeni horizons.
The first two weeks were partially dedicated to the translation into English, digitalization and evaluation of the original documentation (excavation diaries, unpublished reports by the excavators, museum inventories, field photos, excavation plans, photos and drawings of the finds).
At the same time, a complete re-study of the 26 graves from the EBA cemetery was carried out (Fig. 1). All burial goods –these mostly consisted of pottery vessels (48 totally or partially reconstructible vessels), but also included a few metal objects (pins, bracelets and “spirals”) and flint arrow-heads, some stone and paste beads, a bone spindle-whorl, as well as a few animal bones– were measured and described anew (Fig 2 and Fig.3). They were compared with the original drawings and necessary corrections were made to the latter. New digital photos were taken of all finds (Fig. 4); for this aim, several pottery vessels which had fallen apart during the past years were partially restored again. The work on the original material from the EBA graves can thus be considered concluded, and we hope to be able to produce a final publication of the EBA cemetery in the next future.
Work on the settlement material proved to be more time-consuming because of the large amount of preserved finds, and of some serious problems in the interpretation of the original documentation (errors in the orientation of the published plans, difficulties in attributing the finds to their original contexts, etc.) In spite of these difficulties, we completed the digitalization of the original excavation documentation and the translation of the published and unpublished preliminary reports, finished the re-study of the artifacts (pottery and small finds) from the 1984 campaign, as well the translation of the 1984 excavation diaries, and began work on the 1985 season, which we plan to complete next year, together with the study of the 1986 campaign. In addition, we undertook preliminary observations of sections and surfaces of Kura-Araxes and Bedeni pottery sherds by a binocular microscope (Fig. 5), and, with the help of dr. Luca Bertoldi, carried out a preliminary classification of the main fabric types. As for lithics, it was decided to entrust their study to one of the Georgian students (Tamar Meladze) who will carry it out under the supervision of a Georgian expert.
Animal bones from both the cemetery and the settlement had not been the subject of any previous study and publication. They were separated from the remaining finds and prepared for being transported to Italy for being analyzed by a specialist there. As for paleo-botany, no relevant material was found among the cemetery and settlement finds preserved at the Khashuri Msueum, but we contacted dr. Nana Rusishvili (Archaeological Centre of the Georgian National Museum) who had sampled the site during excavation and carried out some still unpublished analyses, and agreed for her to provide us with a report of her results to be included in our publication. During the last days of our season, dr. Rusishvili visited us in Khashuri and took new microscope photographs of selected botanical samples.
A further activity of the season was the collection of samples for archaeometric analyses to be carried out in Italy. Ca 50 sherds of different wares of the Kura-Araxes and Bedeni period and 12 obsidian samples were collected from both the settlement and the cemetery. Comparative material for archaeometric analysis of pottery were also collected from the contemporary sites of Tsikhiagora (Kaspi district) (21 sherds of the Kura-Araxes and Bedeni periods) and Berikldeebi (Kareli district) (15 sherds of the Late Chalcolithic and Bedeni periods).
One week of work (from September the 19th to September the 25th), was devoted to a preliminary survey of the Kaspi, Gori, Kareli and Kashuri districts. The main known Early Bronze Age sites of the area were visited and their exact position was mapped by the help of a GPS instrument, with the aim of inserting the relevant data in the GIS database under preparation. In addition, we mapped the position of selected sites of different periods, in order to test the reliability of our preliminary interpretation of satellite images (Fig. 6). In the Khashuri district, we also visited a number of sites where surface finds of Early Bronze Age materials had been reported by the local villagers, and took GPS points for them. One day was devoted to the visit of the EBA site of Zveli in Javacheti province, which, like Natsargora, Berikldeebi and Tsikhiagora, contains remains of the Kura-Araxes and Bedeni periods. Drill core samples for checking the sites’ stratigraphy and for soil analysis and/or radiocarbon dating were collected by Luca Bertoldi from the EB sites of Natsargora (Fig. 7), Tsikhiagora and Aradetis Orgora (Dedoplis Gora) in the Shida Kartli province, as well as from the contemporary site of Zveli. At the same time, Dr. Bertoldi undertook a preliminary geological and geomorphological study of the region through the analysis of selected exposed sections (Fig. 8) in different parts of the study area and collected soil samples from these. Further work in progress concerns the reconstruction, on the basis of satellite images and autoptic observation, of the ancient hydrographical system of the region, as well as a study of the sites location as a function of the terrain topography relief on the basis of ASTER satellite images.
The main of the season was the study of the material from the EBA levels of the settlement of Natsargora in the Khashuri district of the Shida Kartli province. The site had been excavated in 1984-1989 by the late A. Ramishvili of the Khashuri Archaeological expedition, but its EBA levels and graves had been the subject only of very preliminary publications in AAR (Ramishvili 1991, 1995). The importance of the Nastargora material lies in the fact that it might bring new light on a still poorly understood and widely debated chronological phase, namely the transition between the Kura-Araxes culture and the following Early Kurgan (Bedeni) culture. As a matter of fact, Natsargora is one of the few sites (together with Tsikiagora, whose EB levels have been published by Z. Macharadze, and Berikldeebi, whose EB layers are in course of publication by M. Jalabadze, and Badaani settlement, excavated by G. Mirtskhulava) where not only Bedeni ceramics have been discovered in a settlement context, but also a certain degree of continuity is supposed between the Kura-Araxes and the Bedeni horizons.
The first two weeks were partially dedicated to the translation into English, digitalization and evaluation of the original documentation (excavation diaries, unpublished reports by the excavators, museum inventories, field photos, excavation plans, photos and drawings of the finds).
At the same time, a complete re-study of the 26 graves from the EBA cemetery was carried out (Fig. 1). All burial goods –these mostly consisted of pottery vessels (48 totally or partially reconstructible vessels), but also included a few metal objects (pins, bracelets and “spirals”) and flint arrow-heads, some stone and paste beads, a bone spindle-whorl, as well as a few animal bones– were measured and described anew (Fig 2 and Fig.3). They were compared with the original drawings and necessary corrections were made to the latter. New digital photos were taken of all finds (Fig. 4); for this aim, several pottery vessels which had fallen apart during the past years were partially restored again. The work on the original material from the EBA graves can thus be considered concluded, and we hope to be able to produce a final publication of the EBA cemetery in the next future.
Work on the settlement material proved to be more time-consuming because of the large amount of preserved finds, and of some serious problems in the interpretation of the original documentation (errors in the orientation of the published plans, difficulties in attributing the finds to their original contexts, etc.) In spite of these difficulties, we completed the digitalization of the original excavation documentation and the translation of the published and unpublished preliminary reports, finished the re-study of the artifacts (pottery and small finds) from the 1984 campaign, as well the translation of the 1984 excavation diaries, and began work on the 1985 season, which we plan to complete next year, together with the study of the 1986 campaign. In addition, we undertook preliminary observations of sections and surfaces of Kura-Araxes and Bedeni pottery sherds by a binocular microscope (Fig. 5), and, with the help of dr. Luca Bertoldi, carried out a preliminary classification of the main fabric types. As for lithics, it was decided to entrust their study to one of the Georgian students (Tamar Meladze) who will carry it out under the supervision of a Georgian expert.
Animal bones from both the cemetery and the settlement had not been the subject of any previous study and publication. They were separated from the remaining finds and prepared for being transported to Italy for being analyzed by a specialist there. As for paleo-botany, no relevant material was found among the cemetery and settlement finds preserved at the Khashuri Msueum, but we contacted dr. Nana Rusishvili (Archaeological Centre of the Georgian National Museum) who had sampled the site during excavation and carried out some still unpublished analyses, and agreed for her to provide us with a report of her results to be included in our publication. During the last days of our season, dr. Rusishvili visited us in Khashuri and took new microscope photographs of selected botanical samples.
A further activity of the season was the collection of samples for archaeometric analyses to be carried out in Italy. Ca 50 sherds of different wares of the Kura-Araxes and Bedeni period and 12 obsidian samples were collected from both the settlement and the cemetery. Comparative material for archaeometric analysis of pottery were also collected from the contemporary sites of Tsikhiagora (Kaspi district) (21 sherds of the Kura-Araxes and Bedeni periods) and Berikldeebi (Kareli district) (15 sherds of the Late Chalcolithic and Bedeni periods).
One week of work (from September the 19th to September the 25th), was devoted to a preliminary survey of the Kaspi, Gori, Kareli and Kashuri districts. The main known Early Bronze Age sites of the area were visited and their exact position was mapped by the help of a GPS instrument, with the aim of inserting the relevant data in the GIS database under preparation. In addition, we mapped the position of selected sites of different periods, in order to test the reliability of our preliminary interpretation of satellite images (Fig. 6). In the Khashuri district, we also visited a number of sites where surface finds of Early Bronze Age materials had been reported by the local villagers, and took GPS points for them. One day was devoted to the visit of the EBA site of Zveli in Javacheti province, which, like Natsargora, Berikldeebi and Tsikhiagora, contains remains of the Kura-Araxes and Bedeni periods. Drill core samples for checking the sites’ stratigraphy and for soil analysis and/or radiocarbon dating were collected by Luca Bertoldi from the EB sites of Natsargora (Fig. 7), Tsikhiagora and Aradetis Orgora (Dedoplis Gora) in the Shida Kartli province, as well as from the contemporary site of Zveli. At the same time, Dr. Bertoldi undertook a preliminary geological and geomorphological study of the region through the analysis of selected exposed sections (Fig. 8) in different parts of the study area and collected soil samples from these. Further work in progress concerns the reconstruction, on the basis of satellite images and autoptic observation, of the ancient hydrographical system of the region, as well as a study of the sites location as a function of the terrain topography relief on the basis of ASTER satellite images.