Samples for 14C analysis (to be analysed by dr. Elisabetta Boaretto, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel), mainly from animal bones since vegetal remains and other organic materials were virtually absent at the site, were collected from the excavation at Tsiteli Gorebi 5. They will allow on the one side to confirm the contemporaneity of the areas excavated so far (which yielded dates between 5000-4800 BC) with those excavated in 2021 and their belonging to the poorly known beginning of the Early Chalcolithic period) and, on the other hand, to attribute a precise date to the still elusive “pits horizon”.
10 Samples for soil micromorphology analysis (to be analysed by Giovanni Boschian) were collected at the site by Flavia Amato at the end of the excavation. Particular attention was paid to the sections of the two quadrants in Field C, in the hope to solve the question of the origin of the thick layer of burnt materials discovered there. Samples from floated sediments were also collected for analysis of microfaunal and vegetal remains to be carried out in Italy. Pollinic samples, to be analysed by Eliso Kvavadze (Georgian National Museum), were collected from two profiles of the deep soundings at Tsiteli Gorebi 5. They will provide indications about the changes in vegetation which affected the Alazani plain in ancient times.
From 28/09 to 12/10 Davide D’Errico, in collaboration with Flavia Amato, who studied the lithic technology, selected a sample of 41 lithic tools (flint and obsidian) from the 2021 excavation. During the first phase of analysis (which involved the use of a stereo microscope), these showed the possible presence of use wear on the functional edges. In the following phase, copies of the selected tools were made using Provil Novo fast light and Vestige fast light in order to continue their analysis at the La Sapienza University Laboratory in Rome, where the possibility of using a metallographic microscope allows the study of the micro traces present on the tools. This is necessary in order to understand on which material and for which activity these tools were used.
Further sampling was also carried out on materials previously excavated by the expedition in Shida Kartli, in particular at the site of Aradetis Orgora/Doghlauri.
During one week, from 14th to 20th September 2021, prof. Ivana Angelini (University of Padova) collected samples of beads of vitreous materials of the Kura-Araxes period both at the Georgian National Museum and at the Kareli Museum, to establish the nature and variety of the artificial materials in use in Georgia during the Early Bronze Age, which preliminary analyses carried out on the samples collected in 2016-2017 showed to be more diversified than previously supposed.
A total of 46 beads were studied by the stereomicroscope, in order to investigate the conservation state (lacks of material, fractures, cracks on the surface, etc.), the presence of patinas or weathered areas, the possible presence of wear and/or working traces, the texture of the surface and of the inner material (when it was visible): 30 of them at the Georgian National Museum in Tbilisi, and 16 at the Kareli Museum. Each bead was weighted and measured in detail. High-resolution 3D images were recorded for all but 5 of the beads. The micro-photographs were obtained by a digital camera and a stereomicroscope, applying the focus stacking technique.
All these data were used for the identification of the type of material: stone, glazed stone, faience, glassy faience, glass (metals, bones, shells and other materials were not considered in this study). Surface weathering, which is often present, produces changes in the colour and texture of the original material, and of course in its composition. For these reasons, the identification of type and composition of material used for the production of beads is often difficult. Moreover, there is a lack of knowledges about the processes and the raw materials used by these cultures for the productions of vitreous materials. In order to improve our understanding of these materials, after the investigation with the microscope, 10 micro-samples were taken from a few broken beads. The samples will undergo further archaeometric investigation in the laboratories of the Padova University.
Animal bones from the 2013-2016 Aradetis Orgora settlement excavations were collected by Giovanni Siracusano at Kareli Museum for isotope analysis to be carried out by prof. Paola Iacumin (University of Parma) and Estelle Herrscher (CNRS Paris) in the framework of ongoing studies about paleonutrition and mobility patterns of the ancient Georgian populations, in collaboration with the ANR-DFG Kur(a)gan project.
Davide d’Errico studied the whole lithic material from the Aradetis Orgora settlement site (2013-2016 excavation seasons) kept at the Kareli Museum is order to identify items to be submited to use wear analyses. The lithic material was analysed using a stereo microscope on the basis of the indications of the previous technological study of the material by Flavia Amato. The selected sample consist of 179 objects, 111 of which are made of flint and 68 of obsidian. Casts of the selected material (using Provil Novo fast light and Vestige fast light) will allow to perform use wear analysis at the La Sapienza University Laboratory in Rome.
Finally, in continuity with the expedition’s activities, but with funds provided by the ANR-DFG Kur(a)gan project, prof. Francesca Bertoldi spent some days (from October 26th to November 3rd) in Tbilisi, where she sampled, together with prof. Liane Bitadze (Tbilisi State University) some human bones form the Doghlauri cemetery for stable isotope analysis to be carried out by Hestelle Herrscher (CNRS Paris) and Paola Iacumin (University of Parma).