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116 x 4.5 m.98 Two unexcavated barrows also had roads, one over a third of a kilometre in length: Barrow 47 (round mound) 356 x 6 m; Barrow 48 (round mound) ca. 43 x 4 m. Whether these processional ways were used to approach the kurgan during the funerary rituals, or whether they were symbolic roads from the barrows to the netherworld is difficult to say.99 In addition to roads, certain clusters of barrows also revealed segments of footpaths, earthen communication routes that connected the mounds. Finally, it has been suggested that the unexcavated rectilinear structures found at the juncture of Barrows 15, 47, 48, and their roads may have served for ritual ceremonies.
Human Skeletal Material
Human remains were sparse in the barrows excavated by Kuftin, and nothing at all was found in Irganchai Graves 3 and 18.Apart from the skeleton found in Barrow 32, only fragments of the crown of teeth (Barrow 28, 30) were found at Trialeti, leading Kuftin to the view that the deceased were cremated outside in the open and the ash then placed on the litter in the burial chamber, a funeral ritual comparable to that described in Hittite sources.100 Mikheil Abramishvili has pointed out that some individuals, however, were interred and provided with rapiers.101
Human skeletons were found at only five sites, with Namgalamitsa Barrow 8 being noteworthy for the possible sitting position of the deceased.102 Bones of domesticated animals, on the other hand, were plentiful, especially in the rich tombs, suggesting that feasting was expensive and probably affordable only by the wealthiest families. Barrow 17, for instance, had a large quantity of animal bones in the pit grave and complete skeletons of cattle in the passageway. All theTrialeti tombs contained pottery vessels, and in several rich burials there were many other sumptuous items.We will deal with the funerary gifts later, but two pit graves (Barrows 17 and 29) are worth mentioning at this stage for the remains of four-wheeled wooden carts preserved in them. Functioning as hearses for the funeral ceremony, these carts were probably pulled along by cattle whose remains are likely those found in the tombs. Indeed, one can imagine that the funerary cart carrying the remains of the deceased moved along the ritual road to the entrance.
The Zurtaketi Barrows
Between 1959 and 1964, Dzhaparidze excavated nine barrows at Zurtaketi on the Gomareti Plateau, whose size and mode of construction are similar
98Narimanishvili 2004: 121.
99Smith 2015: 141.
100Kuftin 1941: 81.
101Abramishvili 2001: 1.
102Saduga Barrow 2, Sioni Barrow 4, Dolina Dilica Barrow 1, Namgalamicga Barrow 8, and Irganchai Barrows 1 and 4. For Namgalamicga, see Abramishvili et al. 1997.
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to Trialeti Barrows 36 and 45, and Sabit Akhcha (Trialeti) Barrow 1.103 Each mound at Zurtaketi was constructed of stone, but collectively they fell into three sizes: large barrows that had a diameter of ca. 100 m, those that averaged 45 m, and the smallest, about 30 m. Although we do not have details of the burial area of Barrow 5, each of the other barrows had a very large stone-built chamber, which in three cases had walls preserved to a height of 6 m (Barrows 3, 4, 6). The largest chambers were built on a grand scale, measuring 14.5 x 10.5 m (Barrow 3) and 14 x 10.6 m (Barrow 6) in area.104 Even the smallest chambers, such as those of Barrow 1 (6.5 x 6.0 m) and Barrow 7 (6 x 5.3 m), must have required a substantial investment of energy to construct.There are variations on the rectangular plan, such as in Barrow 7, which had three smaller rooms opening off the main central chamber. In two cases (Barrows 1, 4) fl at stones on the floor indicated that the burial room was separated into three compartments by columns that supported the wooden roof.
Passageways found clear expression in the Zurtaketi barrows. In Barrow 3, a passageway 40 m in length extended from the east wall of the chamber, widening from 3.8 m across, at the juncture with the tomb, to 10 m at the entrance to the barrow; its height reached 4 m. Some chambers were also furnished with niches on the north and south walls. More intriguing are the many stones incised with crudely executed patterns that decorate the walls of three of the chambers and passageways (Barrows 3, 4, 6). Barrow 4 has the most, with 120 incised stones, whereas Barrow 3 has more than 60.105 Many of the motifs are linear scratches haphazardly incised on the face of the stone. Others such as nested zigzags are more recognisable geometric motifs.Very few figurative images are found and they are mostly representations of animals.These same barrows, all large, were associated with stone-paved roads: Barrow 3–160 x 4.5 m; Barrow 4–300 x 7 m; Barrow 6–400 x 6.2 m. Two of them, Barrows 3 and 4, had multi-celled structures attached to their northern embankments. Dzhaparidze originally thought these were medieval in date, but with hindsight he concedes they may well be contemporary with the mounds and part of the ritual landscape.106
The Meskheti Barrows
Another important centre of barrow burials is the mountainous MeskhetiDzhavakheti region, in the Artaani basin of Georgia, where 200 mounds have been reported in an area of about 3 ha.107 Communities in this region did not practise cremation, preferring individual and collective burials, though they did
103Dzhaparidze 1964.
104Dzhaparidze 1964: 253–4.
105Dzhaparidze 1964: 100;Dzhaparidze 1969: 255;Zhorzhikashvili and Gogadze 1974: 25–6.
106Dzhaparidze 1964: 71–2; Narimanishvili 2004: 122.
107Dzhaparidze 1994: 81.
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feast on cattle whose dismembered parts were placed in the tombs. Although most of the Meskheti mounds have been plundered, we are still able to discern their architectural layout, funerary practices, and broad range of grave goods.
Barrows were circular and built in one of three ways: the largest were constructed entirely of stone; others had a barrow built from a mixture of earth and stone; and the smallest were low cromlechs. It is the design and form of its mortuary chambers, however, which have special features.108 The chambers are built with stone but no mortar (dry stone). They are quite substantial structures, the largest measuring 6.0 x 3.9 m across the base, with walls 3 m high. On the whole, the burial chambers are twice as long as they are wide, and paved with fl agstones. In these tombs, the passageway is a continuation of a long and narrow stone chamber, though a partition, often intact, separates the two areas.As with other stone chambers, the passageway entrance is on the eastern side of the barrow. In some barrows such as Chachkari 2, a low wall of stones encircles the passageway and the chamber (Figure 7.17(1)).The Meskheti barrows were used for collective burials. Skeletons were seldom found in the correct anatomical position, which at the time of burial appears to have been flexed with the skull placed on a heap of stones. Five individuals were reported from Ketileti Barrow 1, three from Akhcha 14 and two from Dumeila Barrow 1. Within the larger Meskheti barrows were ceramics similar to those from Trialeti, though the small tombs yielded roughly made cooking wares, brown or pale-coloured.
The Atsquri Barrow
From the Akhaltsikhe district comes the Atsquri barrow, a burial dated to the end of the Trialeti period.109 It is noteworthy for several reasons. First, it contained the remains of sixty-three individuals – twenty-one adult males, thirtyeight adult females, and four juveniles – recalling the earlier collective grave at Stepanakert.This astonishing number, representing mass burial over a prolonged period, is out of kilter with the usual practice of multiple or individual burials.The grave was a circular earthen pit, just over 2 m deep and 3.8 m in diameter. It had a gravel floor and was covered with a mound of cobblestones. Human bones, the skeleton of an ox and grave goods packed the tomb and were stratified in three levels. Second, the tomb was replete with gifts that reflect a high level of craftsmanship.These include 221 bronze items (amongst them are 132 pins with a variety of heads, 29 bracelets, rings, pendants, 9 daggers, a double-pronged fork, and a spearhead), 286 beads (mostly carnelian with a few faience examples), 18 gold items (discs, plaques, and beads), and 54 handmade ceramic containers (Figure 7.17(2–15)).Third, a few of the gifts
108Dzhaparidze et al. 1984.
109Licheli and Rusishvili 2008.
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Figure 7.17. (1) Chachkar Barrow 2 (Dzhaparidze et al. 1984); (2–15) Atsquri barrow select provisions (after Licheli and Rusishvili 2008).