Drone Mapping Reveals Shockingly Huge Size of 3,000-Year-Old Caucasus Settlement

Using drone mapping, an academic from Cranfield University in the UK has revealed that Dmanisis Gora, a 3,000-year-old mountainside fortress in the Caucasus Mountains, is much larger than previously thought.

Among the first of its kind in this region of Eurasia, Dmanisis Gore, which is inside the boundaries of the Republic of Georgia, has long been regarded as a significant Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age settlement.

Dr Nathaniel Erb-Satullo, Senior Lecturer in Archaeological Science at Cranfield Forensic Institute, has been researching the site since 2018 with Dimitri Jachvliani, his co-director from the Georgian National Museum, revealing details that re-shape our understanding of the site and contribute to a global reassessment of ancient settlement growth and urbanism.

Research on the fortress – named Dmanisis Gora – began with test excavations on a fortified promontory between two deep gorges.

A subsequent visit in Autumn, when the knee-high high summer grasses had died back, revealed that the site was much larger than originally thought.

Scattered across a huge area outside the inner fortress were the remains of additional fortification walls and other stone structures. Because of its size, it was impossible to get a sense of the site as a whole from the ground,  prompting the use of advanced drone technology to create aerial imagery.

“The drone took nearly 11,000 pictures, which were processed using specialized software to produce high-resolution digital elevation models and orthophotos,” Dr. Erb-Satullo explained.

“These datasets allowed us to identify subtle topographic features and create precise maps of fortification walls, graves, field systems, and other structures within the outer settlement.”

The drone survey showed that the fort is expansive, with its outer settlement protected by a fortification wall that stretches a kilometer long. This makes Dmanisis Gora more than 40 times the size initially estimated.

The research team used a DJI Phantom 4 RTK drone which can provide relative positional accuracy of under 2cm as well as extremely high-resolution aerial imagery.

In order to obtain a highly accurate map of human-made features, the team carefully checked each feature in the aerial imagery to confirm its identification.

The researchers merged aerial photographs with declassified Cold War–era spy satellite images to identify ancient structures from recent modifications attributable to the advent of modern farming. That gave researchers much-needed insight into which features were recent, and which were older.

It also enabled researchers to assess what areas of the ancient settlement were damaged by modern agriculture. All of those data sets were merged in Geographic Information System (GIS) software, helping to identify patterns and changes in the landscape.

The massive size and defensive architecture of the site suggest that it was a major settlement in an era of evolving social and political complexity in the region.

The authors note that the data from Dmanisis Gora supports theories that pastoral mobility was still a major element of Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age cultures in the Caucasus region, meaning the people remained on the move much of the time even though they constructed facilities that would suggest they were getting ready to urbanize in a major way.

The site exhibits evidence of low-intensity occupation, which may indicate seasonal use, despite the significant investment in stone architecture. This lends credence to ideas that pastoral mobility was still significant in Late Bronze and Early Iron Age societies.

This work has been funded by the Gerda Henkel Foundation, the Gerald Averay Wainwright Fund and the British Institute at Ankara.

Sixth-Century Sword Unearthed in Anglo-Saxon Cemetery near Canterbury, England

A spectacular sixth-century sword has been unearthed in an Anglo-Saxon cemetery in southeast England, and archaeologists say it is in an exceptional state of preservation and is similar to the sword found at Sutton Hoo, an Anglo-Saxon cemetery in Suffolk.

The find was made in a rural area close to Canterbury, but the exact location is being kept a secret by experts because they have discovered so many valuable artifacts.

The sword bears a silver-and-gilt hilt and runic inscriptions along the blade. According to archaeologists, the prominent feature on the sword is a ring attached to its pommel, indicating an oath to a king or person of high status.

Traces of the leather and wood scabbard lined with beaver fur were also recovered. The grave also contained a gold pendant inscribed with a serpent or a dragon.

“It’s really incredible, in the top echelons of swords, an elite object in every way, which is wonderful. It rivals the swords from Dover and from Sutton Hoo,” stated Duncan Sayer, the lead archaeologist and Professor of Archaeology at the University of Central Lancashire in an interview with The Guardian.

Some 12 burial patches in the early medieval cemetery site have so far been explored with up to 200 more still waiting to be examined.

The gold pendants with a snake or dragon have been worn by high-status women or thought to have been treasured keepsake from a female relative or ancestor

The differences between the findings in the graves of men and women are even more fascinating. Swords, spears, and shields were discovered inside the men’s graves. Knives, buckles, brooches, and other artifacts were discovered in the women’s graves.

Scandinavian and Frankish origin artifacts were found in other graves at the Anglo-Saxon cemetery; the Scandinavian items belonged to a woman who lived in the late fifth century.

Historian and TV presenter Professor Alice Roberts will reveal more details about the discoveries in an upcoming BBC show – the six-part Digging for Britain – which starts in early January.

Professor Alice Roberts, stated: “I’ve never seen one that’s so beautifully preserved. It’s an extraordinary Anglo-Saxon cemetery, with really beautifully furnished graves, a lot of weapon burials where you find things like iron spear points and seaxes, which are Anglo-Saxon knives – and then there’s this astonishing sword.”

The items found will undergo a thorough examination before going on display at Folkestone Museum.