The article describes an experimental study of the Trialeti petroglyphs, which is the first attempt to experimentally study this rock art site in Georgia. The presented research combines the fields of rock art, experimental archaeology, and traceology (use-wear analysis), enabling the determination of techniques, raw materials, and the time consumed for making engravings, as well as the identification of use-wear left on stone tools. During the research, 22 experimental petroglyphs were made, which were incised or scratched using flint and obsidian blades of different sizes and weights. After making experimental engravings, a use-wear analysis of the stone tools was conducted using a МБС-9 microscope. The article discusses the results of the research and explains the difference between the scratches produced by flint and obsidian tools, employing different techniques. It further explores the duration necessary to achieve an engraved image and what sort of traces are left on the stone tool after their utilization on the rock surface. Moreover, the article presents our observations and hypotheses formulated following the experimental study of the Trialeti petroglyphs.
This article discusses how, in the middle of the first millennium BC, the nomadic, so-called Scythian archaeological culture was reflected in the territory of Eastern Georgia. The first part of the work is devoted to information from written sources – in particular, Leonti Mroveli’s“ Exodus of the Khazars” (“The Life of Kartli”) – about the historical processes which took place in the territory of Kartli in this period. The second part refers to the archaeological sites that fall within the same chronological range, which, according to the funeral rites, as well as the artifacts confirmed there, are associated with an alien ethnic element. The debatable issue in the scientific literature about the cultural identity of the Treli burials 16 and 24 is also put forth.
Near the village of Wardisubani, southwest of Tbilisi, Georgia, lie the ruins of a church. It deserves special attention because of its shape, the “round with gallery” and the prominent position on a terrace above the river Mashavera. It is a copy of the “Anastasis Rotunda”, part of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, donated by Constantine the Great (constructed 326-335 AD). Twelve such copies from early Christian times are now known together. The fairly thick walls indicate that there must have been a barrel over the gallery and a stone dome over the center. There are no external indications for the dating. The pottery and the masonry, roughly hewn stone and mortar, not ’emplekton’, can indicate that the church was built around 500 AD. The exceptional location suggests that it was a pilgrimage church, but only of local importance, and it was forgotten after it was destroyed in the middle of the 7th century by the Arabs.
Burials of Clerics in the Durujispira Temple Complex of the Antique/Medieval Town of Nekresi
In the historic region of Hereti ( now Kakheti), in the eastern part of the antique and medieval-period town of Nekresi, the Durujispira temple complex was discovered. The main building of this temple, which dates to the 4th–5th centuries, consists of a three-nave basilica, measuring 44 meters by 28 meters, including its galleries and narthexes. During archaeological excavations beneath the floor of the basilica’s central hall, two graves were unearthed. Based on stratigraphic analysis and radiocarbon dating, graves №58 and №97 were constructed during the period from the first half of the 6th century to the 5th century. The special location of these graves within the temple, as well as the position of the skeletons and the grave goods found alongside them, supports the proposal that they belonged to individuals who were high in the ecclesiastical hierarchy. These two graves exemplify the Christian funeral tradition, which has been little studied in this region, and reflect Christian doctrine.
This article discusses a seal matrix belonging to the head of Abkhazia, Saferbei Sharvashidze. The seal is made of silver. It has conical shape where on the back a rampant lion is soldered. On the flat face of the seal, which is rectangular with rounded corners, there is a Georgian (Asomtvruli) inscription (legend) that reads: “Sharvashidze Seferbei.”
The seal matrix bearing a Georgian inscription, owned by the head of Abkhazia, holds great historical significance. This is because it belonged to a political figure who joint Abkhazia with the Russian Empire. Abkhazian authorities used the Georgian language not only for their foreign political activities but also for internal affairs, viewing the use of Georgian as a symbol their sovereignty and connection to the Georgian world.
The examination of this seal matrix offers insights into the political, economic, and cultural activities of Georgia (Abkhazia) during the 19th century.
The investigation of toponyms, historical and geographical place names, has significant scientific importance. Georgian toponyms are mentioned already from the turn of the II and I millennium BC in Assyrian, Greek, Roman and other foreign sources and from the 5th century AD in Georgian sources. Toponyms change based on factors such as migration, warfare or shifts in religious and political systems. Toponyms discussed in this article come from Georgia itself (Akhuti, Ukhuti, Shukhuti), Azerbaijan (Okhuti), Dagestan (Khuti), Turkey (Khuti, Shukhuti) and Saudi Arabia (Ukhudi). Some of these toponyms reflect changes of the kind mentioned above. In this article, legends and scholarly propositions associated with these toponyms are critically examined.
