Universität zu Köln

Laermanns, Hannes, Kirkitadze, Giorgi, May, Simon Matthias, Kelterbaum, Daniel ORCID: 0000-0003-1487-2304, Opitz, Stephan, Heisterkamp, Arne, Basilaia, Giorgi, Elashvili, Mikheil and Brueckner, Helmut (2018). Bronze Age settlement mounds on the Colchian plain at the Black Sea coast of Georgia: A geoarchaeological perspective. Geoarchaeology, 33 (4). S. 453 - 470. HOBOKEN: WILEY. ISSN 1520-6548

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Abstract

Situated between the Enguri and Khobistskali rivers, more than 30 settlement mounds (locally named Dikhagudzuba) provide evidence for a relatively densely populated landscape in the coastal lowlands of western Georgia during the Bronze Age. Compared to older mounds in eastern Georgia and other regions, these mounds differ not only in age but also in their average size and spatial distribution. Based on the interpretation of nine sediment cores, drone survey and structure-from-motion photogrammetry techniques, our study aims at (i) establishing a chronostratigraphic framework for the mounds based on C-14 dating; (ii) reconstructing possible phases and gaps in human occupation; (iii) determining potential source areas of the mounds' construction material; and (iv) identifying the environmental conditions at the time of their use. The three investigated mounds are similar in dimension and stratigraphy. Anthropogenic layers could clearly be identified and separated from the natural alluvial deposits below. According to the C-14 age estimates, the mounds date to the first half of the 2nd millennium B.C.; this confirms the archaeological interpretation of their Bronze Age origin. While only one construction phase is assumed for two of the mounds, stratigraphic analysis suggests a successive enlargement of a third mound over at least 470 years. Paleoenvironmental conditions in the vicinity of the mounds were dominated by swampy, fluvial (channel) to alluvial (overbank) processes, as attested by river-bank deposits and floodplain alluvium.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Laermanns, Hannes UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Kirkitadze, Giorgi UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED May, Simon Matthias UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Kelterbaum, Daniel UNSPECIFIED orcid.org/0000-0003-1487-2304 UNSPECIFIED Opitz, Stephan UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Heisterkamp, Arne UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Basilaia, Giorgi UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Elashvili, Mikheil UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Brueckner, Helmut UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-182261
DOI:	10.1002/gea.21670
Journal or Publication Title:	Geoarchaeology
Volume:	33
Number:	4
Page Range:	S. 453 - 470
Date:	2018
Publisher:	WILEY
Place of Publication:	HOBOKEN
ISSN:	1520-6548
Language:	English
Faculty:	Unspecified
Divisions:	Unspecified
Subjects:	no entry
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language GRAIN-SIZE DISTRIBUTION; LEAD ISOTOPES; LAND-USE; SEDIMENTS; CAUCASUS; CLIMATE; SOILS; VEGETATION; POLLUTION; HOLOCENE Multiple languages Archaeology; Geosciences, Multidisciplinary Multiple languages
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/18226