First Results of New Investigations at Gardabani Kurgan Field, Kvemo Kartli Region (Georgia)

The article describes the preliminary investigations jointly carried out in 2023 and 2024 by a Georgian-Italian team at Gardabani Kurgan Field, a large barrow cemetery in the Gardabani district of Southern Georgia (an archaeologically nearly unknown region) and the multidisciplinary strategy planned for the investigation of this important site. Activities included a geo-archaeological survey of the surrounding area, an intensive pedestrian survey of the site, the production of a photogrammetric plan and DEM of the whole area and of detailed plans of all the visible kurgans (amounting to more than 60), as well as geophysical prospections of the main kurgan distribution area. These non invasive techniques allowed not only to evaluate the site’s general state of preservation and to understand the overall layout of the cemetery and the distribution of the funerary installations (kurgans and possible auxiliary features), but also to collect a number of important details about the kurgans’ shape, dimensions, materials and building techniques.