Archaeological expedition of the National Museum of Georgia is working on Rabati former settlement

The international archaeological expedition of the Georgian National Museum is conducting archaeological research at the Rabati site in the village of Zveli, Aspindza Municipality.

Rabati is a fortified settlement site featuring a fortification system. Continuous traces of habitation are documented here from the Early Bronze Age (3rd millennium BC) through the Middle Ages. In this regard, Rabati is a significant research object for determining how the process of human adaptation to the environment unfolded and what socio-economic and cultural changes the ancient population underwent over the millennia.

At this stage, powerful structures dating back approximately 50 centuries have been discovered at the Rabati settlement, the architecture of which is unparalleled in the Caucasus region. Tombs and kurgans have been discovered in the vicinity of the Rabati settlement; alongside household items, we encounter ritual artifacts, such as animal-shaped stands and others, the analogs of which have not been discovered in our region to date. The same picture is observed in the strata of subsequent periods, where stylized clay animal figurines and presumably ritual vessels dating back approximately 43 centuries were discovered, providing a completely new understanding of the population of this period. All of this indicates that during the Early Bronze Age, an important settlement for the region existed on the territory of the village of Zveli.

The research of the Rabati settlement and its surrounding area is a multi-year, large-scale international project. The expedition includes a field school where, every year, alongside Georgian students, dozens of students from the University of Melbourne undergo practical training in archaeological excavation. In addition to Georgian and Australian archaeologists, specialists invited from France and Great Britain are involved in the research.

The discoveries at the Rabati settlement significantly contribute to raising the visibility of Georgian archaeological monuments in scientific circles, as well as to positioning the Georgian National Museum as a scientific institution in the international scientific arena.

Archaeological research at the Rabati settlement is being conducted with the support of the Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation of Georgia.