Two Bronze Age human settlements of the Western Karthaliny Basin (Transcaucasia region, Georgia) were studied using a multidisciplinary approach. Satellite data (Corona, Landsat) and aerial images, as well as new archaeological data and a detailed field survey were applied to the study of the hydrographic evolution of the Kura (Mtkvari) River and of its tributaries; its influence on the archaeological sites scattered between the villages of Natsargora and Agara was also examined. Finally, four stratigraphic profiles were analysed; these are situated along the Kura river and on its tributaries flowing from the Greater Caucasus: the Western and the Eastern Prone. Geoarchaeological analyses were carried out in the Bronze Age settlements: the first one -Natsargora- is situated on the top of a mound facing a valley, in an area of low hills, and it lies upon the Neogene bedrock. The position of the site indicates that the drainage system was already in a phase of deepening during the Early Bronze Age. The second one is located on a terrace of the Kura River and corresponds to the mound of Aradetis Orgora. The reconstruction of the palaeosurfaces and palaeochannels, and a radiocarbon date from the base of this site, allowed to outline the changes in fluvial style and drainage network.
Paleohydrographic evolution and its influence on human settlements in the Karthaliny basin (Georgia)
BOSCHIAN, GIOVANNI;
2012-01-01
Abstract
Two Bronze Age human settlements of the Western Karthaliny Basin (Transcaucasia region, Georgia) were studied using a multidisciplinary approach. Satellite data (Corona, Landsat) and aerial images, as well as new archaeological data and a detailed field survey were applied to the study of the hydrographic evolution of the Kura (Mtkvari) River and of its tributaries; its influence on the archaeological sites scattered between the villages of Natsargora and Agara was also examined. Finally, four stratigraphic profiles were analysed; these are situated along the Kura river and on its tributaries flowing from the Greater Caucasus: the Western and the Eastern Prone. Geoarchaeological analyses were carried out in the Bronze Age settlements: the first one -Natsargora- is situated on the top of a mound facing a valley, in an area of low hills, and it lies upon the Neogene bedrock. The position of the site indicates that the drainage system was already in a phase of deepening during the Early Bronze Age. The second one is located on a terrace of the Kura River and corresponds to the mound of Aradetis Orgora. The reconstruction of the palaeosurfaces and palaeochannels, and a radiocarbon date from the base of this site, allowed to outline the changes in fluvial style and drainage network.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
