Aruchlo, Georgien: Neolithische Siedlung im Südkaukasus

The settlement mound of Aruchlo in the Kvemo Kartli southwest of Tblisi was built up during 5800 and 5400 BC and represents the Earliest Neolithic in the Southern Caucasus region. Thanks to the “Kura in Motion” programme of DFG and ANR Aruchlo could be studied in a wider framework of Neolithic settlements in the Kura valley (Menteshtepe) and the Mil steppe. The excavation in Aruchlo documented for the first time a considerable number of large ditches which were dug into the settlement mound from different occupation layers and which were refilled in a structured way. Similar phenomena could be observed in the Mil steppe. The ditches had no practical function but can be considered as “ritual” in a broad sense. In the light of these discoveries the interpretation of the mound must be revised.