Archaeological site of Shulaveri (Region of Kvemo Kartli)
Shulaveri Hill (Gora) (Georgian: შულავერის გორა) – The earliest architectural structures date back to the Neolithic. The mountain was formed as a result of the accumulation of cultural remains and ruins of buildings, which were inhabited in one place for a long, early agricultural period of time. Excavations of the ancient village of Shulaveri (5th millennium BC) give a fairly clear idea of the nature of residential architecture, its features and layout, the specifics of ceramics and other household and economic inventory. Round in plan residential (up to 3 m in diameter) and outbuildings were built from adobe bricks of various sizes, fastened with clay mortar. The entrance to the room was a small rectangular opening made in the wall, above the floor, measuring approximately 0.5 x 0.5 m. The hearths were located near the walls.
These tholos-shaped structures with a dome ceiling were closely adjacent to each other or between them there were walls with the usual openings for each room. Residential buildings usually had openings in the dome for light and smoke. Here there is an open courtyard consisting of two round dwellings and two similar round utility rooms. In some dwellings, unbaked clay vessels of an elongated egg-shaped form were placed near the walls. As researchers assume, these vessels had a cult purpose – an eternal, unquenchable fire was maintained in them. The early agricultural culture discovered as a result of excavations of Mount Shulavri was named the Shulaveri-Shomutepa culture (Georgian: შულავერ -შომუთეფეს კულტურა), following the example of the most ancient monuments excavated in Georgia and Azerbaijan.
Shulaveri village (Georgian: დაბა შულავერი), Municipality of Marneuli (Georgian: მარნეულის მუნიციპალიტეტი)
