Mosaic fragments, a gold votive badge and amphora kilns. These Roman-era discoveries were made by researchers from a team led by Prof. Radosław Karasiewicz-Szczypiorski from the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology at the UW and Dr Lasha Aslanishvili from the Cultural Heritage Protection Agency of Ajara. The research was conducted at the Gonio-Apsaros archaeological site in Georgia.

The town of Gonio is located over a dozen kilometres south of the city of Batumi, Georgia. In the Roman period, the fort-garrison of Apsaros was located there, with a small settlement behind its walls. Today, many scientists carry out their archaeological research in the area, including the ones from the UW. Another excavation season was completed by an expedition led by Prof. Radosław Karasiewicz-Szczypiorski from the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology (PCMA) of the UW and Dr Lasha Aslanishvili of the Cultural Heritage Protection Agency of Ajara.

The excavation work lasted from mid-May to the end of July. During this time, the Polish-Georgian team of researchers made further discoveries, including the third mosaic found in the building identified as the house of the garrison commander (Arrian’s house). The mosaic has been partially secured on site and its most endangered fragments have been transferred to the museum in Gonio, which is located near the excavation site, for conservation.

“The mosaic that has been found is a series of fragments that were displaced from their original place as a result of the earthquake. We cannot yet reconstruct its appearance, but we know for now that there was a single red stripe running against a light background, which most likely formed a meander pattern,” Prof. Radosław Karasiewcz-Szczypiorski said.

The mosaic fragments, as well as the foundations of the garrison commander’s house and floor remains found earlier, allowed the researchers to make a preliminary reconstruction of the building’s appearance. “Much of what can be seen in the reconstruction is the result of painstaking research – so far we have only found one piece of painted plaster from the walls,” Prof. Karasiewicz-Szczypiorski emphasised, adding: “The colour of the tiles in the reconstruction is the same as on the fragments of ceramic tiles discovered at the site, which are the remains of the collapsed roof. The colours used in the mosaics are consistent with those known from the broken fragments, although some of the patterns are from other mosaics.”

Furnaces and a gold badge

The expedition also discovered kilns for firing amphorae used in Roman times to transport wine. Amphorae were also found in one of them. As the researchers point out, this discovery confirms that Colchian amphorae, popular on the Black Sea, were produced at Apsaros.

“The number and size of the amphora ovens indicate that Apsaros must have been an important production and export centre regionally. The local wines were unlikely to have gone beyond the Black Sea basin. They were most likely produced mainly for the needs of the Roman garrisons deployed on the coasts of this basin,” Prof. Karasiewicz-Szczypiorski said.

During this year’s season, researchers also discovered a gold votive badge –  a thin plate with an inscription saying that it was a gift to Jupiter Dolichean, a deity popular with Roman soldiers. The find strengthens the hypothesis of the existence of a Dolichean shrine at Apsaros.

“Remains of temples and other traces of the cult of this deity have been found at many garrisons. Some of our finds, however, are older and may be related to the initial stage of adaptation of the cult for military use. We hope that further research will not only find the temple of Jupiter of Dolicheus at Apsaros, but also confirm that Oriental influence spread west and north to many garrisons, including through soldiers periodically stationed at Apsaros,” Prof. Karasiewcz-Szczypiorski pointed out.

More information about the research at Apsaros is available on the PCMA UW website.