სვანეთი - ოქრომჭედლობის უძველესი კერა (არქეოლოგიური, გეოლოგიური და ქიმიურ-ტექნოლოგიური მონაცემები)

Abstract

Svaneti (Western Georgian Highlands) is reckoned to be one of the ancient areas in the World for extracting and elaboration of precious metals. Some foreign sources indicate that gold existed in Svaneti. The same sources include accounts about different methods for extracting the gold, also about technology of goldsmithery. The myth about golden fleece is related to extraction of gold at the upper reaches of Enguri River. Gold used to be extracted as gold sand in the rivers, and gold mining was another way of getting it. Chemical analysis of the artefacts from Svaneti shows the use of local gold for them; they were done by the local goldsmiths. Longtime tradition is still preserved in ethnographical reality of Zemo (Upper) Svaneti.