Forty seasons of excavation: Nokalakevi – Tsikhegoji – Archaeopolis

The ruins in the small village of Nokalakevi in Samegrelo, west Georgia, have attracted scholarly interest since the first half of the 19th century. They were first excavated in 1930, confirming their identification as the remains of the fortress of Archaeopolis mentioned in early Byzantine historical sources, and known as Tsikhegoji or ‘the triple-walled fortress’ by the Georgian chroniclers. The 40th season of excavation took place in 2015, part of an on-going collaboration between the Anglo-Georgian Expedition to Nokalakevi, established in 2001, and the S. Janashia Museum expedition to Nokalakevi, which started work on the site in 1973. The fortifications enclose a naturally defensible area of approximately 20ha, with a steep limestone river gorge to the north, west and (to a lesser extent) the south, and a hilltop citadel standing more than 200m above the lower town. The site has seen human activity since at least the 8th century BC, with indications of a much earlier presence in the area. This paper seeks to outline the key results of the 40 seasons of excavation, against the backdrop of the shifting political landscape of Georgia.