Abstract:
According to the stratigraphic data, which is based on the longscale observations in
the Atskuri site (the Southern Georgia), it is evident that the 1st mill. B.C. layers of site and
burials are replaced by each other. So, it is evident that exactly on the territory of the
settlement the earliest layers (Middle Bronze Age burials are not considered) should belong
to the 7th cent. B.C. and it seems to be represented with the burial complexes. It is not
excluded, that the following period, the 6th -5th cent. B.C. would be represented with the
burial complexes.
Chronologically, the next appears the house #5, which is dated to the 5th -4th cent.
B.C. Till the middle of the 4th cent. B.C., the territory of site is occupied with the buildings.
From the 4th cent. BC. on the territory of site the burials appear ones again, which continue
to exist in the 3rd -2nd cent. B.C. as well. But in the 2nd cent. B.C. there are traced also
basements of the buildings.
It is extremely difficult to make definition of the remains of the 2nd cent. B.C ‐ 1st
cent. A.D., because they are represented with only two complexes. One is burial #95-5,
which, according to the coin of Polemo II (49-63 A.D.) used as a “Charon’s obol”, is dated
to the 1st cent. A.D. The second is damaged remain of a wall, which should belong to this
period, more precise date could not be identified.
From the begining of the 1st millenium A.D. the population of Atskuri, which from
the 7th cent. B.C. had been concentrated mainly on the left bank of the river Mtkvari, moves
to the right bank of the river, in the 1st cent. A.D., and occupies the territory arround the
castle. From this period, threat of an attack on the city grows (the appearance of the
Romans(?)), which made the inhabitants to concentrate themselves around the castle and to
use the slopes south-eastern from castle for necropolis.
The remains from the Middle Ages are well-represented on the around area of the
Atskuri cathedral. To the north from the temple, there is traced little church of Early Middle
Ages, which in the 10th -11th cent. A.D. had a winary on its eastern side. In the interior of
the cathedral temple, there was traced four-layer cemetery. In the 1st burial of the upper
layer, there was discovered golden icon frame decorated with enamel. The stone of jasper is
placed in the frame with curved representation of crusifixion. Icon is dated to the end of
the 13th cent. A.D.
