Elite Stronghold or Communal Defense? Investigating a Late Bronze-Early Iron Age Cyclopean Fortress in Kvemo Kartli, Southern Georgia

Summary

This is an abstract from the "The South Caucasus Region: Crossroads of Societies & Polities. An Assessment of Research Perspectives in Post-Soviet Times" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Emerging after a Middle Bronze Age, which is defined by massive kurgan burials and a lack of permanent settlements, cyclopean fortresses of the South Caucasus represent the product of a significant amount of coordinated labor. However, much is unclear about the social order of these fortresses and the communities that built them. Excavations at the site of Dmanisis Gora in Kvemo Kartli have begun to explore the formation, organization, and transformation of one of these fortresses during the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age (LBA-EIA). The site consists of two large fortification walls enclosing an area with low mounds and linear stone structures. Excavations within the fortress uncovered two well-preserved phases of occupation tentatively dated to the LBA-EIA. These two phases have broadly similar pottery but significant differences in the character and orientation of their architecture. Excavation of the inner fortification wall—now shown to be more than 4 m thick and at least 2.5 m high--show that its initial construction dated to the earlier phase of the site’s occupation. Evidence of craft production and mortuary activities highlight the potential of the site for investigating the societies living within these cyclopean fortresses.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)   •
• The South Caucasus Region: Crossroads of Societies & Polities. An Assessment of Research Perspectives in Post-Soviet Times

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24144