Before Meeting the Greeks: Kutaisi Influence in Late Bronze and Early Iron Age Colchian Settlements

Abstract

This contribution synthesizes the results of the Kutaisi Archaeological Landscape Project (KALP), focusing on the analysis of the development of settlement patterns in the Colchis lowlands during the 2nd and 1st millennia b.c. The targeted excavations carried out within the urban center of Kutaisi provide new information regarding earthen architectural practices, raw material procurement, and defensive structures that characterized the area in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages. The three sites identified within the Kutaisi urban area, Gabashvili, Dateshidze, and Bagrati, are analyzed in detail to provide fresh insights on settlement structure and typology. They also present distinctive vernacular architectural traditions that make the role of Kutaisi in the region essential to understanding Late Bronze/Early Iron Age building practices, their continuity over time, and their environmental sustainability.