To this day, the investigation of nomadic archaeological cultures remains one of the primary challenges in south Caucasus Late Bronze/Early Iron Age archaeology. In studying this problem, emphasis is placed on metal objects, particularly weapons and ornaments, as nomads predominantly utilized ceramics from settled peoples. On the territory of Georgia, among these metal objects that are associated with the Near East campaigns of the Traco – Cimmerian and Scythian-Sarmatian tribes, both weapons and horse harnesses as well as art works of animal style defining so-called Scythian culture, have been found. These objects, in settlements or sanctuaries, are found only on the territory of East Georgia (Shida Kartli, Kakheti). In Shida Kartli such settlements are: Khovlegora (Muskhelishvili 1978) and Treligorebi; In Kakheti, they are: Mochrili Gora (Pitskhelauri 1973:31-33), Tsiskaraant Gora (Maisuradze & Pirtskhalava 2004:193), Usakhelo Gora (Ibid) and the Melaani sanctuary (Pitskhelauri 1973:117-121). On all these archaeological sites, the so-called Scythian type bronze arrowheads are mostly confirmed in destruction layers. According to D. Muskhelishvili, most of the arrowheads confirmed in the destruction layer on Khovlegora (horizon II-the 5th century BC) are typologically unknown to the “Scythian” world itself (Muskhelishvili 1978:97, ტაბ. LXII). Typical “Scythian” arrowheads were found in an earlier layer (horizon III, the 7th – 6th centuries BC) (Ibid:75-77), but there are no traces of destruction in this layer. Due to the typological uncertainty of the arrowheads found in the destruction layer, it is difficult for the author to determine the invasion of which peoples is associated the Khovlegora catastrophe (Ibid:96). K. Pitskhelauri considers that the sites he studied were destroyed by Scythians, but he does not exclude non-Scythian warriors with Scythian arrows (Pitskhelauri 1965:109; Pitskhelauri1973:48).

In addition to arrowheads, a diagnostic Scythian culture artifact is a bone bouterolle found at Treligorebi (Tbilisi) in the layer dated to the 7th-6th centuries BC (building №53). At the same settlement, in building №17, fragments of zoomorphic vessels in the form of a ram and a bird were discovered. Similar ceramic objects were found in burials №16 and №24 located in the vicinity of the Treligorebi settlement. These two Treli burials are related, on the one hand, to the local Samtavro culture (ceramics) (Abramishvili 1995:ნახ.121-11,22-24). On the other hand, to Scythian culture: funeral structure, funeral ritual⁹ – funeral chamber built of logs and later burned, cremation of the deceased, imitation of horses harnessed to chariots (Ibid:fig.5) and bridles bent at one end (Ibid:fig.5 6). Further, it is related to the Near East: horse neck manes (Ibid: fig.6), horse headgear (Ibid:fig. 45), zoomorphic vessels (Ibid:fig.11), agalmatolite bowl (Ibid:fig.161). The date of both Treli burials was assigned to the end of the 8th century and the first half of the 7th century BC (Abramishvili 1995:37). Based on the construction of the burials, the funeral rite, and certain funeral goods, Treli burials are associated with the arrival of foreign ethnic groups, specifically the Thraco–Cimmerian-Scythian tribes (Ibid:30-38) – forming part of the broader cultural sphere known as the so-called Scythian culture. This encompasses all tribes, from an archaeological standpoint, that are considered to belong to the Scythian culture.

In Treli burials №16 and №24, no artefacts defining so-called Scythian culture have been discovered. Consequently, the question of the cultural attribution of these burials remains open to discussion among scholars (Ivantchik 2001:188-189). The connection of the owners of the Treli burials with the Near East, on the one hand, and with the nomads of the circle of Scythian culture, on the other hand, is most clearly traced by the minor plastics of Treli burial №16. Such are: an anthropomorphic sculpture on an open work pedestal (Abramishvili 1995:ნახ.1), a horse head-figured standard (Ibid:fig.26-11), cheek-pieces for horse-bits with sculptural decoration (Ibid:fig.54, 5, 11-15). These objects were studied from an artistic point of view by N.Gomelauri, who examined the connections between the Treli minor plastics and Iranian art, as well as materials of the synchronous and subsequent period of Treli, widespread in nomadic culture, the area of which covers a vast territory- From Eastern Europe to northern China (Gomelauri 2009:41-42 ). Based on these comparisons, Gomelauri suggests that these nomadic tribes probably played a mediatory role in the contacts between the south Caucasus and Iran and that, most likely, representatives of these tribes were the importers of the new artistic taste (Ibid). According to N. Gomelauri’s conclusion, the Treli minor plastics are the items of local production. This is confirmed by the fact that the forms assimilated by nomads in the Near East, in particular, Luristan and northwestern Iran, acquire new artistic qualities on the territory of Georgia (Gomelauri 2008:ტაბ.VII; 2009:42). The author substantiates that these formal changes are associated with the tradition of the archaeological culture spread on the territory of the central south Caucasus in the third quarter of the second millennium BC, which, inturn, is connected with the flows coming from Anatolia (Gomelauri 2008:42). Based on the minor plastics, N. Gomelauri identifies two waves of interactions between Georgia and the Near East. One is associated with Anatolia in the middle of the second Millennium BC, and the other with Iran in the second quarter of the first Millennium BC (Gomelauri 2009). The second wave is represented by the minor plastics found in Treli burial №16. However, Gomelauri points out that this artistic influence from the Iranian world, outside of the territory of Tbilisi is not found and it occurence at Treli burial №16 is episodic (Ibid).

The chronological relationship between the Treli materials and their Eurasian parallels, according to N. Gomelauri, draws the following picture: The sites that are earlier than or contemporaneous to Treli burial №16, which are the source of artistic influence on Treli minor plastics, are located in Luristan and north-western Iran, specifically Ziviyeh, Marlik, Tepe Sialk necropol B, Hasanlu. Materials from these sites are generally dated to the 9th-7th centuries BC (Gomelauri 2009:41); Contemporaneous with Treli, dated to the 8th-7th centuries BC, are the so-called Greco-Macedonian bronzes on the Balkan Peninsula and the so-called Traco – Cimmerian bronzes in Eastern Europe (Ibid); As for the Scythian materials themselves,they belong to the following period of Treli and are dated to the 7th -4th centuries BC (Ibid). Based on Gomelauri, the examination of the Treli minor plastics alongside their parallel materials provides insights into both the cultural connections between Georgia and the Near East in the second quarter of the first millennium BC and the early stages of the formation of early nomadic and then Scythian art (Ibid). Thus, with the Treli minor plastics and with the consideration of its parallels, it is possible to trace both the cultural ties of Georgia with Near East in the second quarter of the first millennium BC, as well as the early stages of the formation of early nomadic and then Scythian art (Ibid).

Similar to the minor plastic artefacts found in Treli burial №16, the bone bouterolle from the Treli settlement is associated with an external ethnic influence from the south. Chronologically, it is dated to the following period of Treli burial №16. This bone object is decorated on both sides with a motif featuring a feline predator animal. It was examined by M. Pirtskhalava. According to her conclusion, the Treli bouterolle is a set of typical Scythian elements made in an early Scythian style, which is not found anywhere in this combination. The ratio of pose and composition of feline predators on the Treligorebi bouterolle is widespread in the art of Luristan (Pirtskhalava 2016:212-213). The author considers that it is one of the earliest objects among the artefacts of this category and represents an important link in the formation and evolution of the Scythian animal style (Ibid).

The minor plastics of Treli and bouterolle from the Treligorebi settlement confirm that one group of defining elements of so-called Scythian culture was formed in the Near East and that the south Caucasus, in particular, Georgia, is the region where this process also took place¹⁰.

As for the dates of Treli burials №16 and №24 (the late 8thcentury and the first half of the7thcentury BC), both are the precursors of the chronological group of monuments containing Scythian archaic objects (the second half of the 7thcentury and the 6thcentury BC). If we accept G. Kossack’s chronology of Scythian archaic material, according to which Samtavro burial №106 and its synchronous sites are placed in the group of burials dated from the second half of the 8th century to the beginning of the 7th century BC (Kossack 1987:43-75), then the Treli burials can be dated earlier than this period.

The general tendency of re-dating the Scythian archaic objects to the earlier period than it was considered before, was followed by the re-dating of many archaeological sites in the south Caucasus. Relying on specialists in eastern Greek pottery (R. Cook andP. Dupont), M. Pirtskhalava does not agree with this new chornology, as the Miletic amphora of Repyahovataya Mogila, which became the standard for re-dating, was wrongly attributed to the 7th century BC, instead of the 6th century BC (Pirtskhalava 2001:77-79). By studying a wide range of parallel material, M. Pirtskhalava comes to the conclusion that no signs are found in the Caucasian material that would lead to a chronological regrouping of the archaeological complexes with the Scythian inventory of Georgia (Ibid).

Chronologically, Treli burials№16 and №24 and their synchronous Treligorebi structure №17 are followed by Structure №53 with the abovementioned bone bouterolle and its synchronous funeral assamblages with Scythian inventory (Treli burials №№196,198,221,222-the second half of the7th century and the 6th century BC (Abramishvili 2008)¹¹.The three burials (№198,221,222) are multi-layered. In burial №196, three disarticulated human skulls and two lower jaws were discovered. The grave goods accompanying the burial included four Scythian-type bronze arrowheads, bronze needles, a pin, and a finger ring. Additionally, an iron spearhead and fragments of pottery were also found.

In burial №198, among other things, three human skulls, fragments of an occipital skull, two horse skulls, human and horse skeleton fragments were found. Noteworthy among the grave goods were eleven bronze arrowheads of the so-called Scythian type, a bronze pin, and a finger ring. Additionally, there were artifacts such as a curved iron knife, spearhead, and fragments of pottery.

In burial №221¹², the human bone remains included four complete skulls and occipital fragments of a skull, with two lower limbs deliberately arranged in a crossed position. The grave goods consisted of eleven bronze arrowheads of the so-called Scythian type, along with a finger rings and bracelets. Among the iron artifacts, notable items included fragments of an axe, a curved knife with an ornamented bone handle, and a spearhead. In addition to metal objects, there were also two bone fasteners for a quiver, one whetstone, and pottery.

The burial of the deceased was only confirmed in burial №222, in layer 1of which, like in burial №221, two bones of a person’s lower limb were found in a crossed position. In layer 2, a fragment of the human skull (occipital) and a limb bone were found, in layer 3 – a human spine, a skull, a fragment of a jaw and finger bones of a hand were unearthed. The main deceased was buried in layer 4, on the right side, with bent limbs. Among other items, 14 so-called Scythian-type bronze arrowheads were found on the remains of the leather of a quiver. Additionally, bronze items such as an armband, pins, and rings were discovered. Iron artifacts comprised a spearhead, a dagger, and two knives with stalks. Other items like a whetstone and six clay vessels were also found in this grave.

Thus, at the Treli cemetery there are two groups of burials that, based on funeral rites, differ from those of the local Samtavro culture. The first group includes burials №16 and №24, as well as burials №19, №23, №169-170, №172-192, which are possibly part of the funeral offerings associated with these two burials (№16 and №24). In these funeral offerings, evidence of human and horse sacrifice is attested, with no single item defining the so-called Scythian culture (see: Abramishvili 1995:30). The second group of burials (№196, №198, №221 and №222) comprises those with the same funeral rites involving human and horse sacrifices, but distinctively, they contain Scythian artifacts.These two groups reflect different stages of the movement of nomadic culture populations into the territory of Georgia, dating to the 8th – 6th centuries BC. The burials from the first group (№16 and №24), owners of which had already been to Near East, belong to the earliest stage. These monuments cannot be regarded as a reflection of the culture that was established only from the second half of the 7th century BC, shaped by the Scythian-Sarmatian and Thraco – Cimmerian tribes, along with other populations of non-Scythian origin (compare to: Dyakonov 1956:228; Amandry 1965:1601965:160).

As a result of fire and destruction in the 6th century BC, life in the Treligorebi settlement was interrupted (three Scythian-type arrowheads were found stuck in the outside of the stone wall of one of the buildings of the settlement). Given the historical circumstances of this period, it is quite possible that the destruction of the settlement was due to its strategic location. Treligorebiis situated on the natural hills of the Digomi Valley, a part of the Mtkvari (Kura) River valley between Mtskheta and Tbilisi, along the contemporary Georgian Military Road. This road serves as a vital connection between the south and north Caucasus.The movement of northern nomads through the Caucasian mountains, without using the territory of Treligorebi as a link to the Dariali pass, would have been exceedingly complex. The owners of the Treligorebi settlement dominated in this area -they controlled the main roads passing through the Mtkvari Gorge. If we assume that Treligorebi as an outpost is occupied by nomadic tribes, then the destruction of this point may have been in the interests of Media.

About three km north of the Treligorebi settlement, in the direction of Mtskheta, the Nakulbakevi cemetery has revealed burials with Scythian artifacts. In three burials (№14, №22 and №28) individuals were accompanied by horses. (Abramishvili 2010)¹³.In burial №14, the human skeleton was interred in a sitting position alongside two complete horse skeletons that face each other with their heads looking east (Figure 1). Iron artifacts in the burial comprised an akinakes with a kidney-shaped cross-guard accompanied by a partially preserved scabbard (a bone chape measuring nine cm), two knives found under the akinakes, a battle axe with a pointed blade at one end and a conical shape at the other, two spearheads, and two bits, one of which has bridles bent at one end. Bronze items included 32 so-called Scythian-type arrowheads, an awl, and six distributors of bridle straps. Among the bone artifacts were a four-sided arrowhead, three quiver clasps, a fragment of a quiver (possibly a clasp), worked bone, and two astragals. No pottery was found in this burial.

In burial №22, a complete horse was interred in a distinctive manner-not on its side but on its abdomen, legs bent, and the head towards the east (Figure 2). This type of position for a horse skeleton in a burial is well known in the Scythian world¹⁴, but on the territory of Georgia has so far been found only in this burial (any other such case is unknown to me). A human skeleton has not been confirmed, but due to serious damage to the burial, it cannot be excluded that the skeleton of the deceased has not been preserved. The funeral inventory of this burial included iron artifacts such as a battle axe with a pointed end on one side (badly damaged), two-part bits, and a knife with a pointed blade featuring a slightly raised tip. Additionally, the burial contained bronze artifacts, including twelve arrowheads of the so-called Scythian type and a griffon head made of bone, likely associated with a bow. Other notable discoveries comprised two carnelian beads, one glass bead, and one bead crafted from a thin sheet of bronze. Burial №28 was damaged by a medieval wall, which cut its northern part. Within the burial pit, fragments of human bones, including from the skull, pelvis, and limbs, were documented. The alignment of the human skeleton could not be determined, but it cannot be excluded that the individual was buried in a sitting position. Three horses were also placed in the burial: one horse is buried alongside the southern edge of the pit, with its head to the west, while the other two lie along the eastern edge, both with their heads to the north (Figure 3). As part of the funeral inventory, a single ceramic vessel was recorded. Iron artifacts were also discovered, including two-part bits and two battle axes. One axe was partially preserved (10 cm) with a conical head, while the second conical-headed axe consisted only of fragments. The iron objects also included a bayonet and an arrowhead with a tang. Among the bronze artifacts found in the burial were 33 complete and several fragments of so-called Scythian-type arrowheads, along with 11 arrowheads with tangs and a bridle-strap distributor. Among the bone artifacts were two worked fragments depicting the end of a horse’s hoof, a quiver detail, and a chape made of horn with a silver hoop (length – 6 cm). The burial also yielded one carnelian and two agate beads, as well as the skull of a wild boar.

In the Nakulbakevi burials, the burial of a horse is presented in the form of a complete skeleton of a horse, unlike those in the Treli cemetery, where, as in the pre-Scythian monuments (burials №№ 16, 24 and 26 burials, which are associated with them in the form of remains of funerary offerings – the end of the 8th century – the first half of the 7th century BC), as well as in the burials of the next chronological group containing Scythian inventory (the second half of the 7th century and the 6th century BC), the ritual of horse sacrifice is performed not by a complete skeleton, but by one or more skulls and individual parts of the horse.

Treli–Nakulbakevi-Samtavro (Tbilisi-Mtskheta) are situated near each other on the right bank of the River Mtkvari, along the route to Dariali Gorge. They feature synchronous burials with Scythian inventory dating to the second half of the 7th century and the 6th century BC. However, at the Samtavro cemetery (Mtskheta), the burials with Scythian inventory exhibit no resemblance in funeral rituals to those of Treli or Nakulbakevi. In Samtavro, the deceased were interred according to the traditions of the Samtavro culture. Human sacrifices or the placement of horses alongside the deceased are almost absent in the Samtavro cemetery. In only one Samtavro burial (grave №27), the lower jaw of a horse was discovered¹⁵.

At the Samtavro cemetery, alongside the weapons associated with the so-called Scythian culture (such as akinakes and arrowheads), there are confirmed artifacts not typically found in burials associated with the Samtavro culture. These include a bronze distributor of the bridle, a bronze armband (serving as a protective plate for archers), bone clasps for the quiver, and fragments of bone ornaments featuring images of horses’ hooves. These items are commonly found among sites attributed to the Scythian culture. Based on these findings, if Scythians were indeed buried at the Samtavro cemetery, they likely belonged to a group assimilated with the local population¹⁶. This observation prompts a recall of Leonti Mroveli’s information regarding the friendship and unification between locals and newcomers, particularly against common enemies like the Medes(Kartlis Tskhovreba I:125).

Following the second half of the 7th century BC on the territory of Eastern Georgia, alongside items characteristic of Scythian culture, there are artifacts that likely came from the north Caucasus, such as amber beads. This occurrence cannot always be attributed to invasions by Scythian tribes. It is more plausible to consider that the frequent occurrence of this jewellery resulted from relatively peaceful interactions between the populations of the North Caucasus and Eastern Georgia.