ურბნისის სამაროვანი

The Urbnisi necropolis (burial ground) is one of the outstanding monuments in Georgia among the monuments of the Late Antiquity. It situated in Urbnisi Village, Kareli Municipality, on the left bank of the Mtkvari River, in the eastern part of the modern settlement. Archaeological excavations carried out here in 1953-1962 revealed a vast cemetery, which functioned continuously for a long time. For investigations, we selected burial grounds dated to the 1st-4th centuries AD. The principle of its construction, the existence of a common burial practice, the abundance of imported items (glass vessels, glyptic artefacts) and their coexistence with local products allow us to date the burial ground with exceptional accuracy. The complex study of the necropolis has never been done yet and just a part of finds has been published, namely glassware (Saginashvili 1970) and glyptic materials (Javakhishvili 1972). Our goal was to study each burial revealed in the archaeological context, which, against the background of contemporary archaeological monuments (Samtavro, Kamarakhevi, Bayatkhevi, Takhtidziri, Zhinvali burial sites, Karsniskhevi settlement and cemetery, Dedoflis Gora Palace, etc.), will significantly increase our knowledge about the contacts between the internal regions of the country and with the outside world, as well as on the social and property status of the population living in Urbnisi in the period of Late Antiquity and its place in the Kartli society of the 1st-4th centuries AD.
In the presented work burials are discussed in the chronological order. Each grave is accompanied by the information about the structure of the tomb, the position and the orientation of deceased (if such information is available). The detailed description of the grave goods follows, which is important for their chronological attribution. The main body of the paper presents a description of 860 catalogue entries with the reference to the grave goods number.
The grave inventory of each burial is presented separately in the appendix with scale. Only the photos of coins and glyptic material have been enlarged so that the images on them can be IV distinguished. The plates present the specimens that are more or less well preserved and it is possible to perceive what we are dealing with. The grave goods have their own numbers in the text and by these numbers it is easy to find them on the plates. The study of the archaeological context of the burial grounds allowed us to discuss the date of each grave, based on the analysis of the items with confirmed dates.
The study of the Urbnisi necropolis will put into circulation the material previously unknown to the scientific society, which, will significantly increase our knowledge about the monuments of Late Antiquity. Hopefully it become a useful work for the researchers interested in this period.