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and beeswax were also used in the funerary rites.They were smeared on the bodies, possibly for their therapeutic qualities, and substantial residue was also found embedded in textiles (Figure 7.8(2)), possibly to waterproof them or to preserve them. In any event, such copious quantities of honey and beeswax point to developed beekeeping.

A similar scene greeted the excavators of Bedeni Barrow 10, where a series of interconnecting chambers built of upright logs housed goods placed on a bedding of thick felt mats and animal furs rolled out on an earthen floor. A male again occupied the primary position in the tomb, with a female positioned along the periphery. A well-preserved wagon, with tripartite wheels and lynch pins still in place, stood upright within a chamber. Inter-regional contact and dating possibilities are afforded by the bronze, crescent-shaped axe from Bedeni Barrow 12 (Figure 7.9(6)), which has been compared to similar examples from the Near East dating to 2500–2000 BC.46 This has implications for the dating of the Karashamb Barrow (Armenia), where a silver version of the axe was found in association with an exquisite goblet (see below).

In terms of richness, the two barrows from Tsnori, in the Alazani Valley of Kakhetia, are in the same league as the Bedeni burials. The largest cairn at Tsnori (no. 1) had an exterior protected with an armour-like covering of stones.47 A stone structure on top of the mound was, according to the excavators, a shrine built as part of the funerary rites, though whether it is contemporary to the cairn is questionable. A massive, round, stone embankment, 2 m thick and 80 m in diameter, was built beneath the barrow.To its east was a large grave chamber, 3 m deep, which contained a substantial wooden bier surrounded by a wooden palisade.The pit was sealed with a double layer of logs, coated with clay and subsequently covered with a rug.Although partly robbed, the remains point to a long and protracted funerary ritual. On the bed, in a contracted position, lay a male, the principal burial, who was furnished with gold items, parts of a four-wheeled wagon, a bronze dagger, stone and bone tools, and ceramic vessels.Around him were three other skeletons, without the wealth.

Other Bedeni Barrows

The smaller barrow at Tsnori had a larger pit (10 x 10 x 2.5 m) roofed with two layers of logs supported by nine uprights.Again this was a case of a paired burial (male-female) in which the male, aged about 40, was primary, and the female (about 30 years old) an interment on the periphery. Provisions included the well-known small lion figurine cast in gold (Figure 7.3(13)), a unique piece, only 5.2 cm in length, cast around a hollow core filled with a white paste.The lion’s mane has stylised, in-relief ornamentation that imitates granulation and filigree and has been compared in technique to true granulation, found at

46Abramishvili 2010: 171–2.

47Dedabrishvili 1979: 19–25.

Figure 7.9. Bedeni artefacts: (1–5) Bedeni Barrow 5,(1,3) wooden and ceramic tripod bowls, (2) three grape vine canes wrapped in silver plate, (4) stone projectile points;

(5) bone points; (6) Bedeni Barrow 12, bronze crescent-shaped axe (photographs A. Sagona).

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