Assoc. Professor, Dr. of History
Institute of Archaeology, Tbilisi State University
Corresponding Member of the German Archaeological Institute
marina.puturidze@tsu.ge

First Appearance of the Metal Vessels in South Caucasus: Distribution, Their Determining Factors and Typological Variety

The first appearance of the metal vessels in the South Caucasus is related to the famous Trialeti Culture of the 21-first half of the 17 cc BC, which was characterized by the typological variety from the beginning. The facture of metal (gold, silver, bronze) defined those complicated technical methods used in their manufacturing. Among the determining factors of the torerutic’s development most important seems to be the following: the overall achievement of the metalworking field, the organization of international trade-exchange networks in advanced centers of the Ancient Old World, and an activation of intercultural relationships between the Near East and adjacent areas.

The coincidence of these processes with an essential socio-economic attainment of the Trialeti Culture was an important point, especially in case when it reveals total readiness for sharing of all achievements via an activated international contact.

Essentially, the main characteristic features of the mentioned chronological period were an intensive transmission of knowledge and ideas, the manufacturing of fashionable assemblages, and the infiltration of new artistic-stilistic tendencies between the different regions. Trialetian society’s elite reveals a clear tendency toward an acceptance of any kind of novelty, and it could be a reason that their population, so rich with sources and economically increased, might be included in such processes. Accordingly, the result was an attempt to share and establish various specifics of Near Eastern ‘alien’, high artistic standard tendencies when producing the Trialetian toreutics.

The matter that the South Caucasus, as the far northern periphery of the Near East, was a distinguishable area with numerous variable types of metal artifacts, suggests that, besides economic increase, it was determined by its inclusion in intercultural communications. More precisely, characteristic for the Trialeti Culture factors were: striving toward cultural contacts with famous civilizations, which revealed in the appearance of an ‘alien’ artistic-stylistic tendencies in iconography, technical methods, etc., and, besides an acceptance of all novelties, of its transformation and complementing with local tradition. As a result, craftsmen created the precious artifacts, evidently related to the Near Eastern ones and known in the scientific world as the rich assemblage of Trialetian toreutics.

They are represented by various types of samples: the richly ornamented silver ritual goblets of cylindric shape, narrowing at the bottom and with low stand, the silver cylindrical dip-bucket with wholly decorated surface and golden appliqués, the silver hemispherical bowls with the decorated handle, the silver cylindrical shape vessel, with the same size of mouth and flat bottom and with a movable handle, bronze, handled ‘basket-shaped’ bucket with a flaring pedestal base, ornamented with bands of repoussé decoration, the silver biconical shape vessels with low stand and, at the end should be mentioned, other precious toreutics, like the ornamented and plain golden hemispherical shape deep cups, and as well, especially fashionable sample - the golden beaker, ornamented with filigree, granulation and inlays of semi-fine stones and by the curved spirals and horizontal bands motives.

 

The appearance of metal vessels of the Trialeti Culture was sudden, unexpected, and not preceded by any local tradition of their making. Therefore, it marks a turning point concerning such innovation, starting from the developed stage of the Middle Bronze Age.