Rabati Dig Report
In June 2024 the GAIA (Georgian-Australian Investigations in Archaeology) team, comprising staff and students from Classics & Archaeology, colleagues from the Georgian National Museum, and other experts and volunteers from around the globe, returned to Rabati in Georgia for the sixth year of excavations. In this report on the 2024 dig, Associate Professor Andrew Jamieson tells us more about the process of excavations at this multi-period mound, improvements to the accommodation at the site, and some of this year’s finds.
We begin by thanking our colleagues from the Georgian National Museum and collaborators in the village of Zveli. We are very grateful for the generous support and warm hospitality they provide.
This year we arrived in Georgia on 6 June. In Tbilisi we held meetings (on 7 June) with Professor Dr David Lordkipanidze, Director of the Georgian National Museum, and other colleagues from the museum’s Centre for Archaeology: palynologist Dr Inga Martkoplishvili and artefact repository manager, Salome Markozia. The 2024 season was five weeks in duration, from 10 June to 12 July.
Before heading to the site, we purchased essential equipment and supplies for the dig, including tools, tarpaulins to cover the excavation trenches, and lidded containers to store artefacts.
Location
We are excavating at the fortified multi-period site of ancient Rabati in the village of Zveli, overlooking the Kura River valley in the Meskhet-Javakheti region of southwest Georgia.
Let me describe to you our location.
Excavation Permit
All our archaeological activity in Rabati is approved by the Georgian authorities set out in the project excavation permit (certificate No. N/12/15) in accordance with the Law of Georgia On Cultural Heritage. We are very grateful to our Georgian colleagues and General Director, Nikoloz Aznaurashvili, for facilitating all aspects of our archaeological research in Georgia.
Fieldwork on the Outskirts of Ancient Rabati
As defined in the permit, the focus of our excavation this year has been the investigation of a mortuary complex comprising at least three ‘kurgans’ (stone covered burial mounds or tumuli) on the outskirts of the Rabati settlement, on land currently supporting livestock. This type of mortuary practice begins to occur in the southern Caucasus during the second half of the third millennium BCE.
The excavation of the kurgans was directed by GAIA co-director, Dr Giorgi Bedianashvili, with the assistance of Georgian archaeologists Giorgi Gogoladze and Tornike Rostiashvili and students from the University of Melbourne. Excavation methodology was in accordance with Georgian protocols for the exhumation of human remains. The GAIA project’s physical anthropologist is Dr Maka Chkadua from the Georgian National Museum.
In the centre of the complex, we discovered a stone lined burial chamber (F3) that was partially disturbed in antiquity. On either side of this tomb were two smaller internments (F4 & F5). Finds from these three features included a small ‘Trialeti’ (Middle Bronze Age) vessel with incised decoration, carnelian bead fragments, two bronze stick pins with intricate modelled flattened heads and eye holes in the shafts, a bronze spiral hair ring, a red flint sickle blade, a denticulate flint blade, obsidian and flint arrrowheads and disarticulated human bones. The artefacts date from the Early and Middle Bronze Age [2200–1500BCE].
The central kurgan (F3) was defined by a chamber made up of large basalt stones. Although this burial had been stripped of its original contents and reused in recent times, some fragments of broken pottery survived. To the south of the chamber at a lower level was found two cist graves (C1 & C2). One cist contained skeletal remains of multiple individuals. The pottery associated with these burials dates them to the Kura-Araxes culture (Early Bronze Age [c4000–2000BCE]), suggesting that the area was used as a necropolis over a relatively long period of time. This finding is significant because it has not been documented previously at Rabati. It may also feed into notions of social memory, where later Early Kurgan (Middle Bronze Age) communities return to Kura-Araxes (Early Bronze Age) locations, especially to bury the dead.
The decision to investigate the kurgan complex was to obtain a body of material from a different context that can be compared to the settlement evidence uncovered on the Rabati summit in earlier seasons.
Excavations on the summit have recovered a stratigraphically defined sequence of occupation that has been verified by c14 dating. This chronological evidence may be used to help date the kurgans and the associated grave goods discovered on the outskirts of the city.
The stone covered kurgans are visible features in the landscape and can be readily identified in surface surveys. However, not all mounds are true kurgans. Some turn out to be rock accumulations resulting from field clearings. Of interest is the location of the kurgans in the vicinity of the modern cemetery at Rabati, which may not be accidental.
Fieldwork on the Summit of Rabati
On the summit work continued defining above ground features and tracing the outline of a substantial building from the late Medieval period. Work in this area was coordinated by Cassandra Kiely (PhD candidate) and Kerrie Grant (Trench Supervisor). Cassandra’s doctoral research is investigating the Medieval period at Rabati. The title of her thesis is ‘An Entangled Landscape: Art and Archaeology of the Medieval South Caucasus’. Cass notes, “the Medieval phase at Rabati has not been sufficiently examined” and that
a thorough investigation of the site’s Medieval architectural remains and ceramic assemblages has the capacity to create new typological groups, expose localised modes of production and trade, and in turn, to uncover the lived experience of its ancient inhabitants.
The Team
The GAIA project comprises key core members and a range of specialists, as well students and volunteers.
Core members of the project have established a long history of collaboration. This continuing relationship has enabled the GAIA Project to build and foster connections with Georgian authorities and local communities over many decades. The site project 2019–2024 is led by co-directors, Dr Giorgi Bedianashvili, Dr Claudia Sagona, Dr Catherine Longford and Associate Professor Andrew Jamieson.
The team this season included archaeologists, palaeobotanists, palynologists and palaeozoologists, as well as a group of enthusiastic students, professional staff (Richard Serle, Pitt Bequest Officer, Baillieu Library, and Steve Martin, Collections Manager Arts Teaching Innovation, Faculty of Arts) and several alumni and friends of the University of Melbourne. The GAIA Project, the Georgian-Australian Investigations in Archaeology, is a research collaboration between the Georgian National Museum and the University of Melbourne that was established by the late Emeritus Professor Antonio Sagona and Dr Claudia Sagona.
University of Melbourne Classics and Archaeology Students
Honours student Miette Welsh returned to Rabati for her second season. According to Miette
It’s an absolute privilege and delight to work with such amazing, clever women in the field. We feel extremely lucky to be surrounded by incredible role models who teach us and inspire us. It’s a pleasure to be on this journey with them.
Kate Oski joins us for the first time. Her thesis is investigating ‘Greco-Scythian Art: A Case Study of the Golden Pectoral of Tovsta Mohyla’. On her time at Rabati, Kate writes:
Participating in the 2024 season of the GAIA Project has been the opportunity of a lifetime. As an honours student writing a thesis on finds in Scythian kurgans of the first millennium BCE, I am most excited to excavate similar structures from the Bronze Age in the south of Georgia. At the excavation site, I learn much from the co-director, Dr Giorgi Bedianashvili. I am truly inspired by Georgia’s people, hospitality and archaeology. I am immensely grateful to the University of Melbourne for this opportunity, and I am very proud to be part of the GAIA team.
A Student Snapshot of Life on the Dig
Classics and Archaeology student Elizabeth (Lizzie) Tetaz created a reel for social media.
Student Conservator
Zeejay Tan returned to Rabati for his second season. Zeejay is currently undertaking a Masters at the Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation. He is planning to specialise in archaeological conservation. Because he enjoyed his two weeks at Rabati last year, he decided to return in 2024 for the full season.
Processing Finds in the Artefact Laboratory
Claudia continues to coordinate processing all the artefacts, particularly the pottery. She recently commented:
Despite decades of fieldwork, handling the finds from an excavation — pottery and every manner of cultural artefact — has never lost its appeal. The process of documenting the finds is a fundamental step towards constructing the cultural narrative of ancient communities. It is such a joy to be surrounded by my colleagues, young and old, in the workrooms. To help and be helped in the process of shedding light on how people lived in the past at Rabati is very rewarding. It is a team effort when analysing, drawing and cataloguing the finds and the various observations and discussions that emerge in the course of a day are always welcome.
Cameron House
In 2019 the GAIA Project was fortunate to receive a generous donation from the late Wallace Cameron to secure a base for our operations at Rabati. Known as ‘Cameron House’, it is now serving as the main study centre for palaeobotanical, palynological and palaeozoological analysis. In addition, we have employed local tradespeople to build a terrace to use as a workspace for drying pottery and organic samples in the sun. Plus, we are preparing a studio for photographing finds and a conservation lab for the treatment of artefacts.
Archaeobotanical Analysis
This season, our archaeobotanist, Dr Catherine Longford, from the University of Sheffield, is continuing to process soil samples from Rabati. Soil samples are floated in a flotation machine to recover charred plant remains, including grain, cereal chaff, weed seeds, fruits and wood charcoal. Archaeobotanical analysis can provide insights into ancient diets, agriculture, fuel use, vegetation history and past climates. This year Catherine is assisted by a University of Sheffield Bioarchaeology MSc student, Merran Rielly-Hurst, who is learning practical field skills in archaeobotanical research. Merran’s field training is funded by the University of Sheffield Student Fund. On her time at Rabati Merran reported, “I learnt a lot, met some great people, and got covered in mud!”
Soil flotation has relocated to the garden surrounding Cameron House which is a perfect location for soil processing. The terraces within the garden offer beautiful views of the northern mountains while floating soil and also proved plentiful space for soil processing and drying samples.
A total of 54 soil samples equivalent to 935 litres of soil, including material from the kurgan excavations and previous years at Rabati, have been processed during this season. Flotation has targeted samples collected from 2023 in the D9.1 trench which will contribute to our newly funded radiocarbon project. The heavy residue from each sample has been sorted by Kerrie Grant to retrieve any finds, animal bone, pottery, obsidian, beads and metalwork from the sample.
The Rabati project was recently awarded a highly competitive UK National Environment Isotope Facility (NEIF 2757.0324) grant for 32 radiocarbon dates from the University of Oxford laboratory. Both archaeobotanical material and animal bone from D9.1 will be radiocarbon dated to provide the chronology for the Early Kurgan period at Rabati.
Palaeozoology
UoM Professional Staff
Faculty of Arts professional staff participated in the 2024 season. Richard Serle is a returning volunteer for the entire 2024 season and first-time visitor Steve Martin joined the team in July to experience professional development opportunities with Georgian museum staff in Tbilisi and a week of practical archaeology at the ancient Rabati site in Zveli.
Richard Serle (Pitt Officer Collection Development and Access, Student and Scholarly Services, Baillieu Library) summed up his time at Rabati in the following terms:
Taking part in the GAIA Rabati project as a professional staff member has given me invaluable insights into practical archaeological research and an opportunity to deepen and enrich the relationship between the University Library and the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies.
Being a volunteer on the Rabati project has allowed me to experience firsthand the varied and complex elements of an academic archaeological fieldwork project; the foundational principles and strategic aims of the research, the practical methodologies employed and how the results feed into publication and engagement with the broader academic community. In particular, I have been able to establish close ties with a range of academic & professional staff and the student cohort and gain an appreciation of how my role interacts with and supports them. There has also been a welcome opportunity to work with and learn from Georgian colleagues and strengthen international ties and collaboration.
I feel privileged to be able to engage with colleagues across the University community in a multi-disciplinary team of subject experts and enthusiasts and to deepen ties with a range of Library stakeholders.
Steve Martin (Collections Manager, Arts Teaching Innovation (ATI), Faculty of Arts) shared his experience in Georgia:
Before joining the GAIA team in July my experience in archaeology had been two decades of working with UoM archaeological collections used to support teaching and learning during object-based learning seminars and for display in the museum context.
This hands-on experience working with UoM and Georgian colleagues on the site of the ancient Rabati excavation has been a journey made worthwhile specifically because of the time and specialist knowledge offered by our generous mentors. Being at the excavation has facilitated a genuine connection to source material and remarkable insights to the academic discipline of practical archaeology. Witnessing the material culture emerge from the soil by my own hand and those of the team as the layers of earth are slowly and incrementally excavated and documented, while engaging all my senses in the field, has been an affecting learning experience.
On Friday June 25, H E Beka Dvali, Georgian Ambassador in Australia, invited Andrew Jamieson and Steve Martin to a meeting with the Director of the Art Palace, Professor George Kalandia. Professor Kalandia hosted a behind-the-scenes tour of the Art Palace of Georgia. While passing through the temporary exhibition gallery, Professor Kalandia expressed interest in developing an exhibition on the GAIA Project activity to share with the local community and international visitors.
We also discussed the second Georgia-Australia Symposium planned for 2026 at the University of Melbourne.
In addition, meetings were held with Professor Alexander Mikaberidze, Professor of History, Ruth Herring Noel Endowed Chair for the Curatorship of the James Smith Noel Collection, Louisiana State University in Shreveport. Discussions included the second Georgia-Australia Symposium planned for 2026 at the University of Melbourne. Professor Mikaberidze invited the GAIA Project to the National Archives of Georgia conference.
Professor Mikaberidze also introduced the GAIA Project to the editors of the journal Istoriani and the periodical Kviris Palitra. They are interested in preparing a feature story about the GAIA Project.
Visitors
This year we hosted several visitors: Robert Hook (Melbourne), Luka Shanidze (Oxford) and Philippa Solly (London).
Robert Hook visited Rabati for two weeks assisting with documenting features on the summit and processing pottery. According to Robert this was a unique and fascinating experience into life on an archaeological dig. Robert was impressed with “the outstanding view overlooking the river”, observing “it would be a formidable defensive position. Even from an amateurs’ perspective there is a strong possibility of it being a position of significance.” Robert enjoyed the opportunity to be part of the GAIA team: “the dig was particularly enjoyable and a great learning experience, working with Claudia on the pottery gave me a greater insight and appreciation of archaeological processes but also some exciting potential which lies ahead”.
Alumni
This season the Rabati Project also welcomed visits from several UoM alumni. For a fortnight Alan Lawrie, Yolande Kerridge and David Jay assisted with the excavation and artefact processing.
LiDAR Surveying
Georgian National Museum
On 13 July GAIA team members visited the Georgian National Museum for a guided tour of archaeological collections presented by co director Dr Giorgi Bedianashvili.
2024 Team Members (listed in alphabetical order by surname)
Zurabi Abesadze, logistics and driver, Georgian National Museum
Dr Giorgi Bedianashvili, co-director, Georgian National Museum
Giorgi Gogoladze, archaeologist, trench supervisor
Kerrie Grant, archaeologist, trench supervisor
Robert Hook, volunteer
Dr Heather Jackson, ceramicist, Classics and Archaeology Senior Fellow, University of Melbourne
Associate Professor Andrew JAMIESON, co-director, University of Melbourne
David Jay, volunteer
Yolande Kerridge, volunteer, UoM alumni
Cassandra Kiely, Classics and Archaeology PhD candidate, University of Melbourne (+ daughter Violet Parker & partner Lee Parker)
Mark Krenzer, Classics and Archaeology Honours student, University of Melbourne
Alan Lawrie, volunteer, UoM alumni
Hannah Lewis, Classics and Archaeology Honours student, University of Melbourne
Peggy Lucas, Classics and Archaeology Honours student, University of Melbourne
Dr Catherine Longford, co-director and archaeobotanist, University of Sheffield
Steve Martin, Collections Manager Arts Teaching Innovation, Faculty of Arts, University of Melbourne
Dr Inga Martkoplishvili, palynologist, Georgian National Museum
Kate Oski, Classics and Archaeology Honours student, University of Melbourne
Merran Rielly-Hurst, MSc student, University of Sheffield
Tornike Rostiashvili, archaeologist, trench supervisor
Dr Claudia Sagona, co-director, Classics and Archaeology Principal Fellow, University of Melbourne
Richard Serle, volunteer, Pitt Bequest Officer, Baillieu Library, University of Melbourne
Luka Shanidze, volunteer, University of Oxford
Philippa Solly, volunteer
Zeejay Tan, Grimwade Centre, Masters of Cultural Material Conservation student, University of Melbourne
Elizabeth Tetaz, Classics and Archaeology Honours student, University of Melbourne
Adeline Vautrin, zooarchaeologist, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Aaspe/Umr 7209 CNRS
Miette Welsh, Classics and Archaeology Honours student, University of Melbourne
Our Partners in Zveli
We extend our sincere gratitude to the people of Zveli. The assistance and support they provide are greatly appreciated by the GAIA Project. In particular, we would like to acknowledge and thank the following individuals:
Logistics: Zaza Zedginidze
Chefs: Eteri Zedginidze and Tia Zedginidze
Accommodation hosts: Eteri Zedginidze (Georgian House), Zaza Zedginidze (Main House), Tsiuri Giordadze and Pantela Zedginidze (Beekeepers House)
Field assistants: Elizabeth Zedginidze, Merabi Zedginidze, Fridon Zedginidze, Tamazi Zedginidze, Vaso Zedginidze, Mose Zedginidze, Tornike Zedginidze, Malkazi PAPASHVILI, Darchia Diasamidze, Ramazi Inasaridze, Zura Zedginidze, Slava Zedginidze, Tengo Zedginidze, Elioz Zedginidze, Nugzari Zedginidze, and Levani Zedginidze
Site guard: Gimzeri Zedginidze
Looking Ahead
The overarching objective of GAIA is to explore how people lived in and adjusted to the mountainous regions of southwest Georgia throughout the centuries. By continuing to build the partnership with Georgian colleagues, the results from this season are contributing to fulfilling our project aim.
Acknowledgements
The GAIA Project would like to acknowledge with gratitude the following: Professor Dr David Lordkipanidze, Director of the Georgian National Museum and Professor Margaret Cameron, Head of the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies at The University of Melbourne, for their encouragement and support of this collaborative project.
Special thanks to H.E. Beka Dvali, Ambassador of Georgia to the Commonwealth of Australia, for facilitating all aspects of our research activities in Australia and Georgia. All his efforts are greatly appreciated.
We are grateful to the following funding agencies: Shota Rustaveli National Scientific Foundation of Georgia (ID № 22-20715,Upheavals and adaptations in transitional period from Early to Middle Bronze Age in the south Caucasus: Based on material culture and environmental evidence from Rabati settlement, south-west Georgia), the British Institute at Ankara (Heritage Turkiye 2023/2024, Agriculture in the Highlands: Kura-Araxes and Bedeni periods at Rabati), and the UK’sNational Environmental Research Council’s National Environmental Isotope Facility (NEIF ID № 2757.0324, Dating the Early Kurgan period; the view from Rabati, Georgia).
GAIA also received contributions from the Antonio Sagona research fund and from other generous patrons: Dr Heather Jackson, Robert Hook, Yolande Kerridge and David Jay, and Dr JJ Kim Wright.
For further information about the project or if you would like to support the GAIA initiative, please contact A/Prof Andrew Jamieson (asj@unimelb.edu.au or +61 412 313 669).
Selected publications on Rabati
BEDIANASHVILI, G., JAMIESON, A., SAGONA, C., 2021, The Early Kurgan Period in Rabati, Georgia: The Cultural Sequence and a New Suite of Radiocarbon Dates, Radiocarbon. 63(6), 1673–1713. doi:10.1017/RDC.2021.56
BEDIANASHVILI, G., JAMIESON, A., Longford, C., Martkoplishvili, I., Paul, J., SAGONA, C., 2022, Evidence for Hemp and Flax Textile Production at Rabati, Georgia, Journal of Archaeological Science. 43 : https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X22001304
BEDIANASHVILI, G., JAMIESON, A., SAGONA, C., (2022) Interpreting Echoes of the Kura-Araxes Culture in the Early Kurgan Period, Turkish webinar (2021) In Eds. Mehmet Işıklı Erkan Fidan Atila Türker Mehmet Ali Yılmaz, MÖ III. Binyılda Anadolu, Yapım ve Dağıtım İstanbul 2022, pp. 453–480.
BEDIANASHVILI, G., JAMIESON, A., SAGONA, C., (2024), Archaeology at the Frontiers: Investigations at Rabati, Southern Caucasus and Evidence of Cultural Memory, ARWA, The End of the Kura-Araxes Phenomenon: The Chrono-Cultural Aspect of the EB/MB Transition in the South Caucasus, Lyon and Yerevan, (2–3 December 2021) Brepols: Turnhout pp. 39–65.
Blog Posts
For more on the Rabati Excavations, see more on Forum and the Faculty of Arts News
A Settlement for the Ages at Rabati, Southwest Georgia
Rabati 2023: Report on Georgian-Australian Investigations in Archaeology
From the Field: SHAPS Students in the Southern Caucasus
Australia-Georgia Symposium: Archaeology and Beyond
Feature image: An intergenerational collective of inspiring archaeologists at Rabati. Photographer: Andrew Jamieson