Caucasus Chariot Burial

[Patrick Waterson]

Archaeologists excavating a burial mound in Georgia found this.

An ancient burial containing chariots, gold artifacts and possible human sacrifices has been discovered by archaeologists in the country of Georgia, in the south Caucasus.

The burial site, which would've been intended for a chief, dates back over 4,000 years to a time archaeologists call the Early Bronze Age, said Zurab Makharadze, head of the Centre of Archaeology at the Georgian National Museum.

Archaeologists discoveredthe timber burial chamber within a 39-foot-high (12 meters) mound called a kurgan. When the archaeologists reached the chamber they found an assortment of treasures, including two chariots, each with four wooden wheels. [See Images of the Burial Chamber & Chariots]

The team discovered ornamented clay and wooden vessels, flint and obsidian arrowheads, leather and textile artifacts, a unique wooden armchair, carnelian and amber beads and 23 golden artifacts, including rare and artistic crafted jewelry, wrote Makharadze in the summary of a presentation he gave recently at the International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, held at the University of Basel in Switzerland.

"In the burial chamber were placed two four-wheeled chariots, both in good condition, [the] design of which represents fine ornamental details of various styles," Makharadze wrote. Thechamber also contained wild fruits, he added.

While the human remains had been disturbed by a robbery, which probably occurred in ancient times, and were in a disordered position, the archaeologists found that seven people were buried in the chamber. "One of them was a chief and others should be the members of his family, sacrificed slaves or servants," Makharadze told Live Science in an email.

The burial dates back to a time before domesticated horses appeared in the area, Makharadze said. While no animals were found buried with the chariots, he said, oxen would have pulled them.

Other rich kurgan burials dating to the second half of the third millennium B.C. have also been found in the south Caucasus,said Makharadze in another paper he presented in February at the College de France in Paris. The appearance of these rich burials appears to be connected to interactions that occurred between nomadic people from the Eurasian steppes and farming communities within and near the south Caucasus, Makharadze said.

These interactions appear to have led to some individuals, like this chief, getting elaborate burials. The newly discovered armchair symbolizes the power that individuals like the chief had. "The purpose of the wooden armchair was the indication to power, and it was put in the kurgan as a symbol of power," Makharadze said in the email.

The kurgan was found in eastern Georgia near the municipality of Lagodekhi and was excavated in 2012.

One is reminded of the Khazar standard-carrying wagons: perhaps old habits die hard?

[Duncan Head]

One does wish journalists wouldn't use "chariot" for four-wheeled ox-carts 

[Sharur]

Interesting item, though as too often the press-release arrives ahead of the full investigation.

One does wish journalists wouldn't use "chariot" for four-wheeled ox-carts 

Technically, it was one of the archaeologists who used the term "chariots", according to the report, and as there were no draught animals in the burial, what pulled them is a matter of speculation. Might have been helpful to have seen a reconstruction, or at least a link to a discussion of similar vehicles though, assuming there are any from the nearby region, so we might all have had a better idea of just what had been found.

I loved the fact the "before domesticated horses" link in the Yahoo News/Live Science piece goes only to an item on North American mustangs. How wonderful they were roaming the southern Caucasus sometime after 2000 BC as well. Meanwhile, the "four-wheeled chariots" link in the same piece guides you neatly to an item on the terracotta armies of ancient China, though that does at least mention "chariots"...

Having said this, and having been searching around for information about ancient Georgia lately myself, this is actually high-quality stuff compared to some of the wild-to-idle speculation that seems to pass for archaeological discussions about the place online. It sometimes seems little has changed in places in the millennia since everyone north and east of the Black Sea was simply a "Scythian", while modern Western maps of the region make it clear this remains as much the edge of the known world as it was in Jason's time