Non Destructive Testing for South-Caucasian Archaeology:

Acronym: NoTESCA

Description

Significant transformations occurred between the end of the Middle Bronze Age (Trialeti culture) and the beginning of the Late Bronze Age. This period (c. 1800-1400 BCE) was characterized by complex socio-political phenomena not yet understood, such as the decrease of the imposing barrow burials (kurgans) not associated with settlements and the rise of inhabited areas and fortified structures.

The periodisation and chronology of the Late Bronze Age in the South Caucasus is poorly understood, due to several reasons including the imprecision of ceramic typologies and the few, and not entirely reliable, radiocarbon dates. Even more uncertain is the transitional period from the Middle to Late Bronze Age c. 15-14th cent. BCE.

Our current knowledge of this transitional phase remains incomplete.

This project is designed to address critical gaps in our understanding of these phases. If The Georgian team (N. Gobejishvili, N. Kobalia, N. Chaduneli) will be responsible for the choice and study of archaeological materials held by the Georgian National Museum (Tbilisi) and coming from different archaeological sites (Doghlauri, Nuli, Kvasatali, Berikldeebi), the Italian research group (S. Di Paolo, M. Catrambone, L. Luvidi, S. Boccuti) will focus on the selection and temporary exporting in Italy (at the CNR ISPC laboratories) of a group of ceramics of the Middle-Transitional-Late Bronze Ages for their archaeometric characterization.

Studies focusing specifically on these phases are still limited and only sporadic archaeometric analyses have been carried out on the Southern Caucasus assemblages. The project wants to contribute to the identification of the distinctive features (if any) of different traditions through the use of analytical techniques aimed to obtain information about raw materials, technological choices, workmanship.