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Investigating the spatial organisation of Bronze and Iron Age fortress complexes in the South Caucasus

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 April 2019

Nathaniel L. Erb-Satullo Open the ORCID record for Nathaniel L. Erb-Satullo [Opens in a new window] ,
Dimitri Jachvliani ,
Tuna Kalayci ,
Marine Puturidze  and
Katie Simon
Nathaniel L. Erb-Satullo*
Affiliation:
Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, School of Archaeology, 1 South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3TG, UK
Dimitri Jachvliani
Affiliation:
Otar Lordkipanidze Archaeology Institute, Georgian National Museum, 3 Rustaveli Avenue, 0105 Tbilisi, Georgia
Tuna Kalayci
Affiliation:
Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies, JBHT 304-1 University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA
Marine Puturidze
Affiliation:
Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, 1 Chavchavadze Avenue, 0179 Tbilisi, Georgia
Katie Simon
Affiliation:
Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies, JBHT 304-1 University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA
*
*Author for correspondence (Email: nathaniel.erb-satullo@arch.ox.ac.uk)
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Abstract

The South Caucasus has been largely absent in broader discussions of prehistoric population aggregation in Greater Eurasia. The authors use remote sensing, surface collection and magnetometry to investigate two hilltop fortress settlements at the margins of the Kura River Basin, with a particular emphasis on satellite settlements around the main hills. The results support a model of settlement growth in which previously mobile groups settled around the fortress, while maintaining a degree of spatial and social separation. The use of multiple survey techniques reveals a complex picture of settlement organisation, with implications for comparative analysis of prehistoric population aggregation models.

Keywords

South CaucasusLate Bronze AgeIron AgeUAVmagnetometry
Type
Research
Information
Antiquity , Volume 93 , Issue 368 , April 2019 , pp. 412 - 431
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2019 

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