In the rugged highlands of the South Caucasus, where ancient trade routes once connected Europe to the Middle East, archaeologists have made a discovery that challenges our understanding of how early human settlements evolved. Using cutting-edge drone technology, researchers have revealed that what was once thought to be a modest fortress was actually a massive complex spanning 80 hectares – roughly the size of 150 football fields.
The site, known as Dmanisis Gora, represents one of the largest known settlements of its kind from the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages (1500-500 BCE) in the region. Dr. Nathaniel Erb-Satullo, Senior Lecturer at Cranfield University’s Forensic Institute, who has led the research since 2018, made the discovery during what started as a routine survey.
“That was what sparked the idea of using a drone to assess the site from the air,” explains Erb-Satullo, describing the moment when his team first glimpsed the true scale of the settlement beyond its central fortress.
A Tale of Two Cities
The most intriguing aspect of Dmanisis Gora isn’t just its size – it’s the puzzle of how it was used. The site features a heavily fortified inner core of about 1.5 hectares, surrounded by a sprawling outer settlement protected by a kilometer-long wall. While the inner fortress shows signs of intensive, year-round occupation, the outer settlement tells a different story.
Despite substantial stone architecture and defensive walls in the outer settlement, archaeological evidence suggests lighter occupation than expected. This unusual pattern has led researchers to propose a fascinating hypothesis: the site may have served as a gathering point for seasonal pastoral communities, expanding and contracting as mobile groups moved between summer and winter pastures.
Technology Meets Archaeology
The research team employed a DJI Phantom 4 RTK drone to capture nearly 11,000 high-resolution images of the site. These were processed using advanced photogrammetry software to create detailed maps revealing hundreds of previously unknown structures, including defensive walls, burial grounds, and ancient field systems.
In a clever use of historical resources, the team compared their findings with declassified Cold War-era spy satellite photos from the 1970s, helping them understand how the landscape had changed over the past half-century.
Rewriting Regional History
The scale of Dmanisis Gora approaches or exceeds the size of major medieval cities in the region. Its 56-80 hectare expanse rivals the medieval city of Tbilisi (65-70 hectares) and the renowned city of Ani (70-80 hectares), challenging previous assumptions about the complexity of Bronze Age settlements in the region.
The site’s location at the convergence of highland pastures and lowland territories suggests it may have played a crucial role in seasonal migration patterns. This finding adds weight to theories about the importance of mobile pastoralism in Late Bronze and Early Iron Age societies of the region.
A Window into Ancient Resilience
Perhaps most significantly, the discovery provides insights into how some societies maintained stability while others collapsed. While many Near Eastern and Mediterranean societies experienced severe disruption during the 12th century BCE “Bronze Age Collapse,” the South Caucasus region showed remarkable continuity.
The research, funded by the Gerda Henkel Foundation, the Gerald Averay Wainwright Fund, and the British Institute at Ankara, opens new avenues for understanding how ancient communities adapted to changing circumstances and maintained resilience through periods of regional upheaval.
As excavations continue at the site, with tens of thousands of pottery shards and animal bones being uncovered, researchers hope to better understand the communities that built and inhabited this remarkable fortress. Their findings may reshape our understanding of how ancient settlements grew and functioned, particularly in mountainous regions where pastoral lifestyles played a crucial role.