Archaeology in the Caucasus region: research, education and dissemination

Ca’ Foscari has been developing archaeological research in the South Caucasus, in Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.

The Georgian-Italian Shida Kartli Archaeological Project has been launched in 2009 under the guidance of prof. Elena Rova in collaboration with the Georgian National Museum to investigate prehistoric cultures in the Shida Kartli region in Georgia (in the picture, the team in 2016).

Four sites have been excavated so far, with a multidisciplinary approach and micro-archaeological techniques, leading to the investigation of many Kura-Araxes burials located between the Kura and Araxes rivers from the end of the fourth to the beginning of the third millenium BC.

This remarkable outcome was shared in international dissemination activities. The 2013 symposium “At the Northern Frontier of Near Easter Archeology” highlighted the role of Transcaucasus in the Bronze Age as a contact area between the Northern part of the Middle East and the Northern Caucasus, and last year’s workshop “Georgia and Armenia: new perspective on the archeology of the northern Caucasus”, involving researchers from around the world, from Armenia to Italy, from Germany to Georgia and Israel.

Ca’ Foscari launched two additional research project in the area: the Dragon Stones Archaeological Project in Armenia under the guidance of archeologist and researcher Alessandra Gilibert, and excavations in Georgia under the guidance of prof. Paolo Biagi.

The commitment of Ca’ Foscari aims at re-evaluating the role of the area in the prehistoric and pre-classical periods as the crossroads for neighbouring regions. Ca’ Foscari has offered great development and growth opportunities in this research field with a strong history in teaching and researching the languages of the Caucasus and significant book archives supporting studies and research.

These projects encouraged to establish relations between the universities involved with an international education offer and visiting opportunities for Ca’ Foscari students and professors adding to Georgia Azerbaijan and Armenia for overseas exchange.

This year Ca’ Foscari has welcomed professor Vakhtang Licheli from Tbilisi State University for lessons on ancient history and archeology in Georgia and in the Caucasus. Discover professor Licheli’s comments on the podcast of the radio programme "Ca' Foscari è Ricerca" (min 2'52").

The development and dissemination activities are not restricted to academia: the mission in Georgia has developed innovative initiatives with the Italian Embassy in Tbilisi and in collaboration with Italian and Georgian nonprofits, including two comic books about the excavations in Natsargora and Aradetis Orgora, written in Italian and Georgian and distributed in Georgian and Italian schools, and a cartoon on the Italian missions in Georgia, that is currently being created by a Ca’ Foscari alumnus.

Not to mention the activities organized for the Researchers’ Night: games such as specifically designed Memory or the snake and ladders game, workshops… The Shida Kartli mission offers more than dissemination activities and publication of the results in academia, with a comic book aiming at involving the general public.

Valentina Gennaro