Dr. Elisabetta Boaretto took part from 02/09/2011 to 11/09/2011 to the excavation at Natsargora, where she undertook selective collection of samples for 14C analyses in highly controlled environment from different contexts, both Kura-Araxes and LB in date. These will considerably increase the corpus of 14C dates which we collected during the previous seasons from both the Natsargora and the Okherakhevi sites, and will allow to obtain a more reliable absolute chronology for the EBA in the region, especially as concerns the controversial relation between the Kura-Araxes and the Early Kurgan cultures. Since available dates for the Early Kurgan period are especially scanty, dr. Boaretto collected some additional samples from materials (bones, seeds, nuts etc.) from old excavations of this period stored at the Georgian National Museum.
    Raw obsidian samples for provenance determination were collected from the new Natsargora excavations. These will be analysed at the Institut de Recherche sur les Archéomatériaux, Centre Ernest Babelon, C.N.R.S. of Orleans (France), in order to compare the results with those obtained on the samples from the old excavations at the site collected in 2009 and 2010 by the members of the expedition. These suggested that the whole obsidian from the site was obtained from a single source, namely the Lake Paravani/Kojun Dag area in southern Georgia.
    A new area of research which was started in 2011 is the collection of samples for soil micromorphological analysis from archaeological contexts, which was carried out under the responsibility of prof. Giovanni Boschian. The main aim of these studies is to elucidate the influence of past human activities on sediment production and deposition, as well as on the site’s formation processes, in order to understand the ancient use of the site and of its areas. More in particular, work was focused on some floors that appear to have been intentionally prepared; these are made up of sequences of several couples of 2-4 cm thick layers of compacted yellowish silt overlain by 4-6 cm thick greyish-brownish layers, that include large quantities of charcoal, mostly cereal seeds, and some wood fragments. There are still several open questions relating to the preparation and use of these yellowish silty floors. The soil micromorphological technique can be applied in order to find clues to these issues, because several types of traces of human activity can be put into evidence at microscopic level, including ash, phytoliths, dung remains, trampling, etc. Thus, sequences of traces of past human activities can be found concentrated in the layers that cover the above mentioned surfaces, even if these are rather thin. Samples for micromorphological analyses are usually undisturbed sediment blocklets measuring approximately 9 x 6 x 6 cm that are carved out from excavation profiles or surfaces and are transformed, after preparation in specialised laboratories, in thin sections to be observed under a standard polarising microscope and described following standard procedures.
    A sounding of 1 x 1,5 m (Sounding 2) was excavated in quadrant 099.099a, at the W edge of the excavation area, where a sequence of Kura-Araxes floors directly overlying the virgin soil was evident and represented by several superimposed levels (Fig.11). All these sediments were sampled for micromorphological analysis, including all their peculiarities and mostly the boundaries between layers. In addition, charcoal samples were also collected in order to date the sequence by 14C and to identify the vegetal species involved in the use of the features.
    One monolith was also collected from the excavation profile in quadrant 100.100c (Fig.12), through some light yellowish silt floors that resemble those of the previous area, but can be ascribed to the Late Bronze Age. Here, the silty layers are largely similar to those of area 099.099a, but are in some cases somewhat thicker. Other samples were collected through the profile of Locus 0342-0343, which is apparently a peculiar depressed combustion feature, rather shallow and of roughly rectangular shape, filled up with charcoal and light reddish sediment, and from other interesting contexts.