Tkhilnari Hoard

Tkhilnari Hoard, a Bronze Age hoard and archaeological monument dating to the 14th–13th centuries BC. It was discovered in 1994 near the village of Tkhilnari, situated on the left bank of the Chorokhi River.

It represents a so-called "smelter's hoard" that is characteristic of the Western Georgian (Colchian) culture. Its composition included a total of 44 items. These consisted of bronze axes—including one of the earliest forms of the massive Colchian axe—all three types of segmented tools, the so-called tsuni ([defected one] an axe that failed to achieve a complete form during the casting process and was retained for remelting), and fragments of ingots. The Tkhilnari Hoard additionally contained the curved blades of axes, alongside fragments of the butt and the shaft-hole.

The discovery of the Tkhilnari Hoard demonstrates that, alongside major metallurgical centers, active metal-casting workshops also operated throughout Western Georgia. The excavated material is currently preserved within the Batumi Archaeological Museum.

A. Kakhidze