ANCIENT GEORGIAN IRON METALLURGY AND ITS ORE BASE
Geoarchaeology and Archaeomineralogy (Eds. R. I. Kostov, B. Gaydarska, M. Gurova). 2008.Proceedings of the International Conference, 29-30 October 2008 Sofia, Publishing House “St. Ivan Rilski”, Sofia, 248-252.ANCIENT GEORGIAN IRON METALLURGY AND ITS ORE BASEDavid M. Kuparadze1, Dimitri V. Pataridze1, Thomas N. Kerestedjian21Caucasian2GeologicalInstitute of Mineral Resources, 85 Paliashvili Str., 0161 Tbilisi, GeorgiaInstitute, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1113 Sofia; thomas@geology.bas.bgABSTRACT. In the almost 5000 years long history of Georgia metallurgy has always played an important role. Its specifics, development, ups anddowns and new reincarnations in other times and places, over and over again are the main story in this paper. Southern Georgian metallurgicalcentres are considered the birth place of the iron metallurgy of the world and have played leading role on the markets of the then known worldduring the whole Antiquity. In the Middle Ages, however, Georgian metallurgy is forced to hide in the Northern mountains to keep away fromaggressive intruders and suffers from restricted ore base and isolation. The last flash of the Georgian iron metallurgy is seen in the South Easternterritory in XIX century. The present day Georgian metallurgy is entirely based on import.point of view Bolnisi and Alaverdi (present Armenia) districts.The Northern province covered the mountainous parts of theGreat Caucasus, at the areas of Abkhasia, Svaneti, Imaretiand Racha (Fig. 1).IntroductionGeorgian history dates back for several millennia, having itsroots in the second half of the III mill. BC. Ancient Georgiantribe Tubal (Tuval) is mentioned in the Bible as founder of themetallurgy and blacksmith art. Ancient Georgian metallicartefacts are found spread across the entire Middle East –Mesopotamia, Syria and the Anatolian Kingdoms.Centres of metallurgical production of the Southern zone(Lower Caucasus Mountainous area) played leading roleduring the entire Antiquity. This is a whole historical stage inthe development of Georgian metallurgy, lasting until theMiddle Ages. During this period the metallurgical importance ofthe Northern zone is insignificant, except the Svaneti goldbearing region, well known for its gold production since ancienttimes but having some experience in iron melting, too. Thisexperience becomes the seed of the technological growth ofthe Northern zone in the beginning of the Middle Ages, whenthe Southern zone lost its importance. Finally, in XVIII and XIXc. metallurgical production centres moved to the South again,but this time in the South-Eastern part of the country Borchalo(Bolnisi) – Alaverdi regions.The historic subdivision of the Middle Bronze Age in WesternGeorgia relies on evidence from the compositions of theproduced metals. In the beginning the main product was the Ascopper, replaced in turn by As-Sb copper and Sn-Cu alloys.Thus, the Georgian antique iron metallurgy did not appear inan empty environment, but represented a logical continuationof the pre-antique metallurgy. A specific proof for thetechnological succession is the fact that regardless of thetechnical difficulties connected to the new material, ancientcraftsmen kept trying to reproduce in iron the same shapesthat they used to produce from bronze. This phenomenon issupported by abundant archaeological findings in Samtavro,Gebi, Sukhumi Mountain, Svaneti, Lower Kartly etc.It should be emphasized that metallurgy has always been animportant component of the Georgian economy since the verydistant past. Under different historical circumstances it hasbeen temporarily depressed or displaced, but kept revivingover and over again. This fact is reflected in numerous writtensources back to the most ancient ones.Records for the high level of iron metallurgy and black smithcrafts of the ancient South-Western Georgian tribes areavailable in written sources, while recent archaeologicalfindings witness similar levels of technology for Kartly andWestern Georgia.Antique metallurgy of the SouthSingle finds of metallic artefacts are known in Georgia sincethe early agricultural settlements VI-IV mill. BC (Khramis DidiGora – Menabde et al., 1978, and Arukhlo – Gogelia, Chelidze,1985). According to Gzelishvili, the oldest metallurgy onGeorgian territory has been located in the Bolnisi region, rich inearly agricultural settlements, too. This is confirmed by theremnants of ancient copper ore extraction close to Tsitelisopeliand its vicinity (Gzelishvili, 1967).Stages of development of Georgian metallurgyThe ancient centres of metal production were distributedmainly in the South-Western, South-Eastern and NorthernGeorgian provinces. The first one was situated in the ChorokhiRiver catchment, within the ancient Shavsheti, Djavakheti andTao-Klardjeti, as well as on the territory of present day Guria.The South-Eastern province covered the Southern areas ofAncient Iberia, with the especially important from metallurgical248
Fig. 1. Map of ancient GeorgiaDuring the Antique Period the Georgian South used toproduce iron, copper and copper alloys, gold and silver. This isregistered in Greek and Roman written sources describing themetallurgical skills of the Mossinik, Halib and Tubal protoGeorgian tribes.in the world, because Halibs produce it in their own secretway”. He calls it “white Halib iron” (Kosidovskii, 1975) which,according to its cited features used to be a kind of stainlesssteel.Such specialized communities used to produce superbmetallic artefacts in amounts vastly exceeding their own needs,giving them ground for wide trading relations with closer andmore distant neighbours. In his comments to “Prophecy aboutTyros” (prophet Ezekiel – VI c. BC) Djavachishvili (1951)emphasizes that the metallic articles of proto-Georgian tribeshave been known even in such distant places like Tyros inLebanon. Important side benefit of this trading is that it madethese tribes popular and put them in the stream of the culturaldevelopment of the whole then known world, since culturehave always been transferred together with trading.However, distinct specialization was marked. Mossiniks, whohad active trading relations with the Greeks, not only in theirclose vicinity (Kerasund), but also in the rather distantTrapesund, have been well known by their superb copper,bronze and brass. According to Aristoteles their bronze couldbe easily recognized by its whitish hue. He notes that“Mossiniks do not use tin in their bronze, but some local earth,which they smelt together with the copper”.On the other hand, Xenophontus describes iron axes in theMossinik armament, but emphasizes that they are produced bythe Halibs, who live at the Western most end of their territory(South-Eastern Black Sea coast) and their dominantoccupation is iron smelting and fabrication. Still Apollonius ofRhodes (Απολλώνιος Ρόδιος) (200-250 BC) notes that Halibs“ do not grow cereals, neither grow fruits, nor they pasturecattle in their lush meadows but instead, they dig their hardferrous land and produce iron to trade for everything else.Their only occupation is iron production what they do day afterday, from sunrise to late evenings” (Antipenko, 2005). This factis also confirmed by Xenophontus (Xenophontus, 1994).The vast amount of metal objects produced in AncientGeorgia rises the question about the ore base for such avoluminous metal production. In respect to copper and silverthe answer of this question is simple: there are a series ofsmall grass-root deposits, still being used in Lower Caucasus.These are Chorokhean (Dzansul), Merissean and Alaverdiancopper deposit groups.These deposits are interesting not only for their reserves ofcopper ores, but also for other features, like surface outcropsand deep oxidation zones, making them easy for extractionand processing. Moreover, modest amounts of cassiterite havebeen found in Adjarian placers that had its importance for theproduction of the famous Mossinik shiny bronze.It is rather obvious, that such narrow specialization of sometribes leads to a remarkable rise of product quality, since itcreates a perfect collaborative and targeted socialenvironment. Aristoteles claims that “halib iron is the best one249
The question about the iron ore base is a bit morecomplicated. The only relatively big iron deposit known inSouthern Georgia is the Chatakhi. Undoubtedly, this deposithas been exploited since “the beginning of time”. According toGabuniya on the 70 km2 mapped by him in 1933 there were 30surface ore outcrops and each of them showed signs ofancient mining and ore processing activity.Antique metallurgy of the NorthHowever, the Chatakhi deposit alone could not provide thebase for the world famous halib iron articles and the glory ofthe proto-Georgian tribes as discoverers of the iron metallurgy(De Morgan, 1926). The base for this wide metallurgical activityare numerous smaller, but convenient hematite (Madnis-zkaro)and Mn-hematite (Tetri-zkaro, Madnis-seri, Soshebi etc.)deposits in South-East Georgia. The naturally Mn enrichedores here contributed for the high quality of the produced steel.The ancient Svanetian gold metallurgy becomes the seed,from which the copper and later iron metallurgical skills growup here. In this respect the neighbouring Racha area isinteresting, too. Neolithic copper metallurgy is proved in acopper-lead-zinc mineralization close to Uravi (MountainousRacha) by the finding of an ancient ore dressing trough withstone hammers and ore pieces inside (Fig. 3) after (Mudjiri,1987).The Antique metallurgy of the North was represented by theSvaneti metallurgical centre. According to Strabo: “in themountain creeks of this country there is a lot of gold, thatbarbarians extract using perforated troughs and long hairedfurs, where most probably the ‘Golden Fleece’ legend comesfrom”. This is confirmed also by Plinius and Appianus.In the South-Western territories hematite deposits arescarcer (Shekomedi) and poorer in good quality ores (ratherpyroluzite earths), but the magnetite sands of Chorokhi Riverand the Eastern Black Sea coast play an important role hereinstead. According to Aristoteles: “rumors tell about thecompletely unusual origin of halib and ammiss iron – it isproduced by sands, transported by rivers; these sands arewashed several times and smelted with the addition of aspecial fireproof stone, which they have a lot in their country”(Kosidovskii, 1975). These magnetite sands originate from theerosion of the vast basic and ultrabasic magmatic rocks,having mean content of 11% magnetite. Iron was mostprobably produced by direct reduction and benefited from thenatural enrichment of the source magnetite sands by Cr, Ni,Mn which additionally improved its quality.Fig. 3. Ancient ore dressing trough with stone hammers and ore piecesinside; copper-lead-zinc mineralization close to Uravi (MountainousRacha)Along with the numerous written documents, the widelydeveloped iron metallurgy in Antique Southern Georgia iswitnessed by the commonly found ancient mine workings (Fig.2) like those in Chatakhi, Madnis-zkaro, Madnis-seri, Fakhraloetc. They are recorded as early as the beginning of XX c. byfamous geologists like Abich, and the mining engineersKosmatii, Osvald, Batzevitch and Margolius. They all witnessthat vast amounts of slugs are always found around theseworkings.Iron farming tools from the VII-VI c. BC have been found inmany tombs both in Svaneti and Racha (Nigvziani, Ureki).Along with the numerous mattocks and hoes, finds of specialinterest represent iron shares (Mikeladze, Baramidze, 1977;Mikeladze, 1982). Slightly younger are the shares found in theBril tomb (Mountainous Racha, IV c. BC, Gobedjeishvili, 1952)and the findings of the Archeological expedition in Svaneti in1952. The availability of shares proves the existence of ironploughs as early as VII c. BC.It is unknown how long did the glorious and world famous atits times South Georgian metallurgy survive, but it is known forsure that at the beginning of the Early Medieval Age it alreadyhad lost its importance and discontinued its existence.Remains of iron metallurgy in Svaneti are recorded byDegen-Kovalevski (1935), who investigated 2 Antique blastfurnaces (out of over a dozen in the area, according to localpeople memories) in Shkhibar (meaning slag place), Chuberimunicipality. The construction of the furnaces as well as theamount of slag there witnessed a rather extended metallurgicalactivity. Based on a vast historical and archeological data theauthor proves that Shkhibar iron production was not only forinternal trade, but also targeted on export. However, this exportcould by no means compare to that of the Southernmetallurgical region, and the main reason for this was thepretty short ore base of the Northern metallurgy. This shortage,however, yielded specific metallurgical techniques here,including multi-metal smelting, producing gold, copper, silverand iron from one and the same load. This specific is reflectedin the name “Golden Shkhibar” used for a place known mainlyby its iron production.Fig. 2. Ancient mine working (IV-III c. BC) – David Garedji, Bolnisi area250
eventually, import based metallurgy could produce only asmuch iron artefacts as possible and it was not always able tosatisfy the needs of the moment; records of such shortage arefound in the memories of Levan II Dadiani, who explains theMegrelian slave market with the need to exchange slaves forsalt and iron “so much needed nowadays”.The trickiest point in the Northern metallurgy is the questionabout its ore base. The extremely high quality of the Chuberiiron objects (99.75% Fe, according to analyses performed forDegen-Kovalevski, 1935) points to an extremely puremagnetite ores, since ancient technology did not have enoughpower to purify impurities to such an extent. Such puremagnetite ore samples have been found at the upper level ofthe Shkhibar metallurgical centre. Its analysis shows 91.07%Fe, few compounds inert in smelting (SiO2 5%, CaO 3%,Al2O3 0.5%) and no P or S at all. Ores with this quality arecurrently unknown in Svaneti, but the analytical data closelyresemble the composition of ores in some Eastern Abkhaziandeposits and especially Sanchar area.Medieval metallurgy of the NorthThe Chuberi (Svaneti) metallurgy slowly perishes and comesto its end, according to some authors in the VII-IX c., oraccording to others – in the X-XI centuries. Unlike the Southhowever, at the end of XIII c. the iron metallurgy of the Northrevived in three new metallurgical centres, namely Abkhazia,Upper Imereti and Racha.Two hypotheses are trying to explain the above facts: thereare (currently lost) deposits similar to those in Sanchara,somewhere in the Utviro-Kirara ridge, in the Western part ofSvaneti (this hypothesis takes ground from the pronouncedsimilarity between the two areas in geological respect; there isno local ore base and the Svaneti metallurgy was based onimported ores only. Although looking fully contradictory, if weanalyze the specifics of the antique metallurgy, the twohypotheses may meet somewhere in between.Abkhazian metallurgy starts playing a significant role in thefirst half of XIII c., when Genoan investments intrude theCaucasian territory. Main target of the Genoan miners was thesilver from the rich Zn-Ag and Pb-Ag deposits in Abkhazia.This is proved by the vast number of old mines, like those inAkhizda-Akara and Akhizdirkhu, with Genoan artefacts.Strictly speaking, there are sure evidences for Genoanmining just for Khitzma, but it is not likely that this activity wasrestricted only there, since Medieval mining techniques wereextensive worldwide. Moreover, it is very likely that local landmasters also took part in this profitable enterprise, byextending it on a wider area.It should be kept in mind that Svanetian iron metallurgy wasrooted in earlier gold, copper and silver smelting traditions.This metallurgy was usually based on small deposits that wereexhausted within a couple of years. As a matter of fact, thesize of the deposit was not important at that time, since therestricted engineering capabilities did not allow the miners toget deeper, even if there was plenty of ore left. Reaching fewtens of meters deep the miners were forced to move to anothersource. This seems to have been no much hassle, since goldand copper smelting had been done in non-sophisticatedfurnaces that could be constructed within a couple of days orso.Another evidence for the success of the silver mining at thistime is the fiscal reform, based on newly struck silver coins,made by Queen Rusudan in 1230. As known, at that time inGeorgia, like in the whole Middle East, silver coin striking havebeen discontinued for over 100 years. The reason for thisphenomenon is still disputable, but the most obvious and thuslikely cause is the exhaustion of the then known silverreserves. The end of this shortage comes with the Genoansilver metallurgy in Abkhazia.Iron smelters, to the contrary, were a “High-Tech” for thattime. They were not likely to be moved or left behind. Theirconstruction was a strategic investment that needed a prettylong time to pay back. Once constructed close to some smallsource (that can be presumed for Shkhibar) and after itsexhaustion, the blast-furnace kept being used with orestransported from more distant occurrences. In Svaneti, which ispoor in proper iron ores, the process of retreating of the orebase from the metallurgical centre may have passed prettyfast. This is how metallurgical centre initially based on local orecan turn into one entirely based on imported ore.The silver metallurgy in the region stimulated a new revival ofthe ancient iron metallurgy as well. According to Davidov(1933) in the Codori River catchment there are numerousremnants from iron smelting activity. Such iron metallurgy,accompanying the silver extraction was pretty practical inDzishra, where the iron mineralization was situated on top ofthe hill, containing the silver ores. Moreover, it was at grassroot position and could be extracted just by surface mining.An ethnological evidence for the importance of iron smeltingin Medieval Abkhazia is the still existing iron cult and thespecial respect demonstrated to Blacksmiths there (Djanashia,1960; Chursin, 1927; Chursin, 1957). The Medieval ironmetallurgy in Upper Imereti and Racha regions is even bettersupported by material evidence. In the Upper Imereti ironsmelting was organized in the vicinity of the villages Tkibuli,Satziri, Ochzhola and Sormoni. Small hematite and limonitebodies are still available there. In Tkibuli the ores wererepresented by nests in marls. The extraction has been donefrom the top of the marls and not getting deep, because ofwater inflow there. In Satziri the iron ore reserves were larger,but by the end of XIX c. the easily accessible surface layershave been exhausted and further extraction was accompaniedby major difficulties.Import based iron metallurgy was not uncommon at that time.This was possible for the following reasons: transportation skills of the ancient people were not at all bad;using mules they were able to cross even such extrememountain routes like the iced ridge of the Central Caucasus; the iron smelting was preceded by on site ore dressing thatwas made close to the ore sources and used to reduce thetransported amounts; according to historical records, theSvans used to have this kind of activity spread all across theirterritory, but used to keep these places secret; the overall iron consumption at that time was not high – justsome farming tools and armament; the modest yearly requiredamounts of ore could well be transported even from distantlocations;251
Iron smelting in Ochzhola was based on the ore transportedfrom Sormoni. This ore was poorer in iron than the one fromSatziri, but its extraction used to be easier. The iron metallurgyin the Racha region was organized close to Tzedisi and on aslightly larger scale. Its ore base was a number of smallhematite
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