antiquity 2017 Ltd, Publications Antiquity © a taeial motn obt h yatnsadteIain,adh oe hsas this notes he and Iranians, the and Byzantines the which Onoguris, both of to fortress important the strategically to was times several refers IV.11) IV.9.6; II.22.3–III.3.8–III.7; facnrnainta atdfrmr hn2 er,adcneprnosaccounts part contemporaneous was and It years, other. 20 the ( on than Agathias Egrisi’. Empire more of Persian War ‘Great for Sassanid the lasted as the it and that and describe Byzantium side, confrontation between one those a 542 the among AD of on is in allies historian, Laz west Byzantine in its sixth-century engagements a military described Scholasticus, who or Myrina of Agathias Onoguris for search the background: Historical teacher, site school the local investigate a to Nokalakevi from to are information 2015. Expedition and was in Anglo-Georgian It the retrieved, led Khuntsi. were that in Gadelia, pottery school Zoya of the damaged fragments in and stored and revealed currently bone agencies Animal archaeological infrastructure structures. appropriate associated archaeological and the mast phone with of mobile , presence a consultation ‘ of the links without installation as indicate western the that locally castle’) ago, (known a years road Samegrelo, of Hill Six fortress. (remains) Kukiti the of a ‘ruins on on as wall municipality Mingrelian River, of from sections Tskhenistskali Martvili roughly short translating the few the of A . in bank and located west the is on Khuntsi Georgia, of village The Introduction Lomitashvili Davit & Everill Paul Georgia western Khuntsistsikhe, at fortifications AD sixth-century Newly discovered Onoguris? of fortress lost The 5 4 3 2 1 ainlAec o utrlHrtg rsraino eri,KtaiiSre 8 15Tiii eri (Email: Georgia , 0105 58, Street Krtsanisi Georgia, (Email: of [email protected] UK Preservation 9DP, Heritage CB3 Cultural Cambridge Rustaveli for Road, Agency West Museum, National 11 National Cambridge, Georgian of University Georgia, SCP, (Email: Cambridge of Georgia Museum Tbilisi, Janashia 0105 3, S. Avenue Archaeology, Medieval Georgia of (Email: Samegrelo, Department UK Nokalakevi, 4NR, Museum-Reserve, SO22 Architectural-Archaeological (Email: Winchester Nokalakevi Road, Zakaraia Sparkford Parmen Winchester, of University [email protected] Archaeology, of Department [email protected] 136 5(07:16doi: 1–6 (2017): e5 356, 91 1 ei Lortkipanidze Besik , ) ) ) 5 [email protected] 2 ioo Murghulia Nikoloz , 1 itrau ir Quinque Libri Historiarum ) 3 ,IanColvin 10.15184/aqy.2017.1 Keydell ; [email protected] Najikhu’ 1967 4 ) , :

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Figure 1. Physical map of Georgia, showing the location of Nokalakevi and Khuntsi on the southern edge of the Greater Caucasus overlooking the Colchian Plain. the ancient name of the place, known as Hagios Stephanos in his day ( in Georgian, Saint Stephen in English). While translating Agathias’s work, Kaukhchishvili (1936: 59–62, Note 1) tried to identify the location of this fortress. He linked its name with the Unagira Mountain that is situated on the border of the Martvili and Khoni districts. He also noted Agathias’s account of how, in AD 554, Persian forces occupied the Kingdom of Lazika up to the River Tskhenistskali, known as the Hippis in classical sources, with Byzantine forces maintaining fortified positions to the west of the river (Kaukhchishvili 1936: 38–41, Note 2). Based on this account, Kaukhchishvili felt that the fortress should be on the eastern border of Lazika, approximately halfway between Tsikhegoji-Archaeopolis (the capital of Lazika) in the west and Kutaisi in the east (Figure 1). Kaukhchishvili also identified Onoguris with the fortress of Ukimerion (usually referred to as Uthimereos in western translations), and several suggestions have subsequently been made for the location of Onoguris. Berdzenishvili (1975: 463–65) also connected its name with the Unagira Mountain, and searched for it in the vicinity of and Nokalakevi. He described a temptation to link the village of Onoghia situated near Bandza with Onoguris; Onoghia is, however, located on the plain with no suitable location for a fortress of such importance. In the 1980s, the Nokalakevi expedition undertook archaeological excavations at Abedati fortress, in the Martvili district, and publications (Zakaraia & © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2017

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Project Gallery Paul Everill et al.

Figure 2. The stamped amphora handles found at Khuntsi and Nokalakevi.

Figure 3. The location of trenches at Khuntsi in 2016. Green shaded areas indicate dense bracken growth overlying standing and/or collapsed walls. archaeological work revealed more information on the size and scale of the fortifications, exposing a 25m-length of wall along the northern edge of the crown of the hill (Figure 4). Excavations also produced an additional example of the stamped handle decoration and a large number of fragmentary fifth- to sixth-century ceramics, including amphorae, dergi (cooking vessels), pithoi (large storage vessels) and ceramic building material. A trench at the © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2017

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Project Gallery Paul Everill et al. top of the hill revealed a hydraulic mortar floor with a finely ground ceramic pozzolan— an additive that produced a more durable, waterproof surface—contained within further substantial stone walls (Figure 5). To the west of this building, an adult male skeleton was revealed. He had been buried in a supine position, with the head to the west and the arms crossed across his abdomen. Within the adjacent building, areas of tiled surface survived, as did four fragments of rectangular column bases. When a small hole unexpectedly appeared in the floor of this building, it was possible to observe elements of a vaulted space underneath. It is certainly conceivable that, rather than representing a tower within the fortress as was first thought, this building was a chapel with a vaulted crypt. Further excavations in 2017 will seek to understand this building better, and additional work will take place to determine the precise layout of the external fortifications. It is clear that the remains at Khuntsi represent an early Byzantine-period fortified site. Although it cannot yet be stated that these are the remains of the Onoguris of Agathias’s contemporaneous accounts, the evidence is certainly beginning to look compelling.

References Keydell, R. 1967. Agathias: Historiarum Libri Quinque. Berlin: de Gruyter. Berdzenishvili, N. 1975. Issues of history of Georgia, VIII. Tbilisi: Metsniereba. Lekvinadze, V. 1993. Abedati Fortress, in P. Zakaria (ed.) Nokalakevi-Archaeopolis, III: 209–22. Tbilisi: Braund, D. 1994. Georgia in antiquity: a history of Metsniereba. Colchis and Transcaucasian Iberia, 550 BC–AD 562. th Oxford: Clarendon. Lomitashvili, D. 2003. Central Colchis in 8 c. BC–6th c. AD Braund, D.C. & T. Sinclair. 2000. Map 87 (Tsikhegoji–Archaeopolis–Nokalakevi). Pontus-Phasis, in R.J.A. Talbert (ed.) Barrington Unpublished PhD dissertation, Georgian Academy atlas of the Greek and Roman world. Princeton (NJ): of Science and Georgian State Museum. Princeton University Press. Pailodze, A. 2003. ChronicleofKhoni,partII.: Kaukhchishvili, S. 1936. Georgica, III. Tfilisi: Tfilisi Alioni. State University. Zakaraia, P. & T. Kapanadze. 1991. Fortifications and secular buildings of Tsikhegoji. Tbilisi: Metsniereba.

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