Kachreti Burial Mounds

The Kachreti Burial Mounds are an archaeological monument. One of them is located 200 meters south of the Gurjaani–Tbilisi highway, in a ravine. It dates to the first half of the 3rd millennium BC and was discovered during the construction of an irrigation canal. In 1979, this mound was investigated by the Kakheti Archaeological Expedition of the Institute of History, Archaeology, and Ethnography (directed by K. Pitskhelauri).

The mound constructed of medium-sized stones. Beneath this stone, a circular pit was discovered. East of the burial pit, skulls of small livestock were found. Human bones were found scattered across the entire area of the burial. Approximately twenty well-fired, hand-molded vessels made of sand-tempered clay were found in the grave.

The second burial mound is situated north of the railway station and dates to the end of the first half of the 2nd millennium BC. It was excavated in 1978 by the same expedition (directed by V. Varazashvili). The burial had sustained prior damage. Beneath the central portion of a large river-cobble mound, an oval-shaped burial pit oriented from west to east was uncovered. A deceased with bended limbs lay in the central section of the pit on the right side, with the head oriented toward the west. Remains of sheep and small livestock, alongside 7 hand-molded clay vessels, were identified at the site. A bronze dagger was also discovered.

The ceramic assemblage uncovered within this second burial included greyish-brown, short-necked, egg-shaped jars manufactured from coarse sand-tempered and dense sand-tempered clay. Drinking vessels and 2 asymmetrical pots were also recovered from the burial.

The materials from both mounds are preserved in Gurjaani Historical-Ethnographic Depository of the Georgian National Museum.

Literature: ბუჩუკური ნ., კაჭრეთის ძვ. წ. III ათასწლეულის დასასრულის გორასამარხი, კრ.: არქეოლოგიური ძიებანი (ახალგაზრდა მკვლევართა IV და V სამეცნიერო სესიის მასალები), თბ., 1985; ვარაზაშვილი ვ., ძველი წელთაღრიცხვის III ათასწლეულის I ნახევრის გორასამარხი კაჭრეთიდან, წგ.: საქართველოს ისტორიისა და კულტურის ძეგლთა აღწერილობა [ტ.] 1-I, თბ., 2013; რუსიშვილი რ., კაჭრეთის ძვ. წ. II ათასწლეულის პირველი ნახევრის გორასამარხი, იქვე; Пицхелаури К. Н., Новые находки Кахетской археологической экспедиции, კრ.: Полевые археологические исследования в 1978 году, Тб., 1981.

R. Rusishvili