We would first of all like to express our warmest thanks to Prof. David Lordkipanidze (General Director, Georgian National Museum) for granting us the permission to undertake new excavations at Natsargora, to Bidzina Murvanidze and to the staff of the Khashuri Museum for their precious assistance in various circumstances.
     The 2012 excavation season at Natsargora and related research were funded by the following institutions and sponsors: Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (PRIN 2009 project " Performing real and ideological spaces and cultural identity: sacred towns, sanctuaries, funerary compounds in Syria, Anatolia and Transcaucasia in the Bronze and Iron Ages"),  Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Fund for archaeological, anthropological and ethnological missions),  Università Ca' Foscari di Venezia (Fund for archaeological excavations, ADIR), the Shelby White-Leon Levy Program for Archaeological Publications (special grant for the publication of the 1984-87 excavations), Metamondo tour Operator.