DID THE GREEKS GO TO COLCHIS FOR METALS?

Transcription

1 DID THE GREEKS GO TO COLCHIS FOR METALS? Summary A too simple understanding of the process of Greek colonisation, especially the reasons for it, sometimes leads modem scholars to unrealistic conclusions. This paper examines the view commonly found in the literature that the main reason for the arrival of the Ionians in Colchis in the middle of the 6th century BC was the area s richness in metals. Archaeological material discussed here shows that Eastern Pontus was far from being so well endowed, and that the local tribes were less advanced in metallurgy than is ofien believed. The Scythian incursion into Colchis at the end of the 7th century BC both introduced Colchians to iron metallurgy and gave rise to a lacuna in the material culture of the area. New tribes in the Eastern Black Sea in the middle of the 6th century BC revived the iron industry, but it never again reached the scale of production achieved in the 7th century BC. The involvement of the Greeks in iron metallurgy is a matter of which, so far, we know nothing. Nevertheless, the Greeks, trying to adapt their art to the tastes of the local rulers, established in Colchis in the 5th century BC schools of gold- and silver-smiths, as well as the production of metal seals and engraved gems. INTRODUCTION In almost all studies of the Greek colonisation of Colchis (eastern Black Sea region) it is stressed that Colchis was rich in iron, copper, gold and silver, and that the Greek presence in that area of Pontus was due to their desire to export those natural resources from Colchis to Greece (Figure 1). At this point Strabo is quoted:... Again, Medea the sorceress is an historical person and the wealth of the regions about Colchis, which is derived from the mines of gold, silver, iron and copper, suggests a reasonable motive for the expedition [the Argonauts voyage to Aia], a motive which induced Phrixus also to undertake this voyage at an earlier date... (1.2.39). Does this reflect the real situation, or is it merely a conclusion drawn by modern scholars? The information provided by Strabo, as the context of the passage shows clearly, is part of the ancient author s discussion of the myth about the Argonauts. It has been pointed out on many occasions that this myth is unlikely to have reflected historical fact and that it should be approached with the utmost caution (Braund 1994, 8-34; Tsetskhladze 1994c, 114-5, with literature). Let me now attempt to examine this complex question with reference to the existing archaeological material. I should like to show OXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY 14(3) Blackwell Publishers Ltd Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 IJF, UK and 238 Main Street, Cambridge. MA USA. 307

2 DID THE GREEKS GO TO COLCHIS FOR METALS? ASNY MAYAK NAMCHEDURI Figure 1 Map of Colchis (6th-1st cc BC), with major sites. things as they really are and, wherever possible, give straightforward answers to the questions which arise. When answers are not available I shall endeavour to pinpoint the nature of the problem. CAUCASIAN/COLCHIAN BRONZE OBJECTS IN GREECE? Excavation in Samos unearthed 10 bronze bells dating from the late 8th and 7th centuries, also a bird in open-work, all of which are held to be of Caucasian origin. The objects were found in a sanctuary and were probably offerings (Mobius 1938, ; Jantzen 1972, 80-5; Bouzek ). Two similar bronze bells were found in tombs (Nos. 28 and 40) at Dura-Europos which date from the 1st century AD (Rostovtzeff et al. 1946, 121-2, pls. XLVIII; LII). Moreover, as finds from Khurvin show, such conical bells penetrated into Iran (Vanden Berghe 1964, pl. XXXVII, 255). E. Porada (1967, 108-9; cf. Spear 1978, 70-2, 94-7; Muscarella 1988, 442-4) thought that these objects spread from Transcaucasia because they were ubiquitous there. Why and how did these bells reach Samos? Were they really of CaucasianKolchian origin? It is difficult to give unequivocal answers to these questions. As mentioned above, bells of this type were widespread in Iran, and even in Dura-Europos in the 1st century AD. These bells probably made their way to Samos via the Near East (Iran) and their presence does not indicate any direct links between Caucasia and Samos. In any case, the quantity of these finds is not sufficient to Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 1995

3 indicate the existence of any regular links. Next of interest are two 7th century bronze figurines of a sleeping woman holding a child to her breast. One figurine was found in Samos (Jantzen 1972, 83-5) (Fig. 9, 5), the other in Colchis (Mikeladze 1985,59-62) (Fig. 9, 4). Both were thought to have been of Colchian origin but it has recently been suggested (Voyatzis 1992, 262-9) that the figure from Samos was of local Greek origin.2 Thus it is the case that the origin of these two figurines is very uncertain. It is, therefore, highly likely that no links between Greece and Caucasia/Colchis existed until the Greek colonisation of Colchis. METALLURGY IN COLCHIS BEFORE GREEK COLONISATION (14TH-7TH CENTURIES BC) The Late Bronze Age in Western Georgia began in the 16th-15th centuries BC with an unusual culture known as the Bronze Axe Culture. It was from this period that bronze metallurgy reached a high level. Antimonous bronze was widely used, as were techniques such as forging, welding, stamping, chasing and drawing (Lordkipanidze ,37). The main component of this culture was the bronze axe which is found everywhere in large quantities from the 14th to the 7th centuries BC, and of which several different types have been identified (Lordkipanidze , 39-42). From the 1 lth-10th centuries onward engraved decoration appears on Colchian axes (depictions of animals) (Pantskhava 1988,25-30). These axes were used for martial, productive and ritual functions (Fig. 6). Other typical finds relating to this culture are hoes, sickles, segment-shaped tools, warriors pole-axes, daggers, swords, spears, diverse pins, fibulae, decorative plates, artistic figurines (depicting human beings, various animals and birds), bracelets, rings, small bells, bits, etc. (Lordkipanidze , 38) (Figs. 4; 5, 8-9). Prominent among archaeological material of the Colchian Bronze Culture are hoards consisting of various bronze objects and bronze ingots, and containing all types of tool. In most cases the hoards were buried in pottery vessels, less frequently in metal ones; at times the objects were simply buried without any vessel - it is probable that they had originally been wrapped in animal skins. At present, about 130 of these hoards have been found. As a rule these were chance finds. The hoards often contain several dozens, even hundreds of bronze objects. Some scholars hold that these were metal-casters hoards, others that they were traders hoards (Apakidze 1991,2 1-2, with literature). In almost every settlement, remains of metal production are encountered: slag, casting moulds, fragments of clay nozzles, bellows, etc. Hearths once used for bronze production are mainly to be found in the gorges of rivers (large and small), with the largest number concentrated in the foothills of mountain ranges. (In settlements hearths are found within clearly definable areas) (Apakidze 1991, 42-4). The earliest iron objects were found with Colchian bronze items in the Ude hoard (over 100 bronze articles and the following iron ones: two spear terminals, a dagger, a pin, a bronze belt-buckle with iron encrustation) (Mikeladze 1990, 52). Scholars have put forward different dates for this hoard: either the end of the 13th century or the 1 lth- 10th centuries BC (Mikeladze 1990, 52, with literature) - which seems to me to be pure speculation in so far as there is nothing of a definite date in the hoard. As T.K. Mikeladze aptly pointed out: In Colchian archaeological material there is not a single iron object and if we take into account the discoveries of recent years there could not be one relating to that (0 Blackwell Publishers Ltd

4 DID THE GREEKS GO TO COLCHIS FOR METALS? 0 10 cms h-- 1 Figure 2 Agricultural implements from the burial-grounds of Colchis (end of 7th c BC) 1-2 Iron ploughs 3, 7, 9. Bronze knives 4-6, 8, 10. Iron knives (After Mikeladze 1990, tabl. 34) I II Ill 'i IV V Figure 3 Iron swords lend of 7th c BC) (After Mikeladze 1990, tabl. 25) Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 1995

5 I P Ill 5 I Figure 4 Bronze swords (7th c BC) (After Mikeladze 1990, tabl. 24) I - 7 I I period [13th- 10th cc BC]. The fact of the matter is that the earliest artefacts reflecting the beginning of the production of iron objects are recorded in burials relating to a period no earlier than the end of the 7th century BC [my italics]. In other words, not only are bronze and iron objects found together in the same group of burials, but also bronze prototypes alongside their iron derivatives' (Mikeladze 1990,52-3) (Figs. 2-4; 7). This means that the hypothesis accepted formerly - that iron was beginning to be used widely in Colchis in the 8th-7th centuries BC (Lordkipanidze , 51, with literature) - should (according to new studies) be regarded as erroneous. The 7th century marked only the beginning of the Iron Age. In Colchis the cemeteries of the first half of the first millennium BC yield interesting quantities or iron weapons (it should be remembered, however, that quantity does not always mean quality!). Approximately 30 cemeteries of the first half of the first millennium BC have been found (Apakidze 1991, 17-21), but iron items are only to be found in burials dating from the 7th century BC onwards. By way of example let us turn to the burials in the village of Nigvziani where 10 pits containing group burials have been excavated. These contained the following grave goods: 88 iron hoes, 6 iron ploughs, 3 iron axes, 1 iron sickle, 8 iron daggers, 5 iron sword, 1 iron spear terminal, 1 iron fibula, 2 iron pins, 1 pair of iron tweezers, etc. - some 150 iron articles in all. The bronze items found there include 4 daggers, 2 arrow-heads, 1 pair of tweezers and 3 bracelets amongst a total of 34 bronze items. To this list 17 silver articles should be added, plus one of electrum, over lo00 cornelian beads, 8 whetstones and several OXFORDJOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY 6 Blackwell Publishers Ltd

6 DID THE GREEKS GO TO COLCHIS FOR METALS? dozen pottery vessels (Mikeladze 1985, 70-95). IRON-SMELTING WORKSHOPS To date 400 iron-smelting workshops have been recoded in Colchis, of which only 27 have been excavated and studied (Khakhutaishvili 1987, 40 and passim). These workshops consisted of smelting furnaces and the production areas in which they had been set up (Fig. 10). They were grouped together in four main centres situated in the foothill region of Colchis (Khakhutaishvili 1987, 40) (Fig. 11).3 When it comes to dating these workshops there are differences of opinion amongst the scholars concerned. D.A. Khakhutaishvili (1987, 109, 143, 150, 162, 218) would date some from the middle, or even the first half of the second millennium BC. (It is worth noting that he used to date the early workshops to the 11th-10th centuries BC , 140). T.K. Mikeladze (1990, 52-3) has doubts about this and from his convincing discussion of the first iron objects in Colchis it emerges that these furnaces should be dated to the 7th century BC, perhaps even to the end of that century. This debate may go on for a long time but for our purposes one fact is particularly important - virtually all the workshops date from a period prior to the 6th century BC. Two workshops have been dated to the Classical period, although doubts could be voiced on this question (for further discussion see below) (Khakhutaishvili 1987, 115-7). SOURCES OF RAW MATERIALS Regions in both the Greater and Lesser Caucasus were rich in the copper which was essential for bronze metallurgy. In the upper reaches of the Rioni river (ancient Phasis), at a height of metres above sea-level, the interesting discovery has been made of several dozen ancient adits situated on slopes and sometimes on sheer rocks. Some of the adits are as much as metres long, metres wide; their average height is 1.5 metres. In them levels of charcoal have been found and also stone hammers; in one a wooden bowl was found, in another a granite one. Not far from the ore deposits remains of charcoal were found, as were stone hammers, large amounts of slag and stone tools (mortars and hullers) (Lordkipanidze b, 200-1). The ancient Colchian iron-smelters used magnetite (Fe,O,) in the form of sand, as well as haematite (Fe203) as raw materials. Within the territory of ancient Colchis magnetite sands extend right along the eastern coast of the Black Sea. The typical magnetite content of these sands (at a depth of 5-6 metres) is up to 2%, while the metal content of magnetite-enriched sand is approximately 55 %. In some a places higher magnetite content has been noted (Khakhutaishvili 1987, 184). The use of magnetite sands as a raw material would seem to be demonstrated by the absence of pieces of iron ore amongst the slag heaps in the workshops; neither have remains of magnetite sand survived (Khakhutaishvili 1987, 184-7). Mineralogical analyses show (according to a publication by Khakhutaishvili: 1987, 186-7) that the main mineral ores in the coastal sands of the eastern Black Sea region are: magnetite or titanomagnetite (approximately 4.1 %), iron hydroxide and ferruginated minerals (3.2 %), rich and poor concretions, grains of vanadium and chrome (in minute quantities). The concentration of magnetite sands was carried out using the flotation method. All along the coasts of Colchis so-called dune settlements were to be found. These are dated differently by various scholars but Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 1995

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8 DID THE GREEKS GO TO COLCHlS FOR METALS'! probably took shape at the end of the 8th century BC and ceased to be inhabited by the end of the 7th century BC. (It can be asserted without doubt that they were already deserted by the 6th century BC). As with virtually all questions of the archaeology of Colchis, there is controversy about their purpose. The following explanations have been put forward: that their emergence was linked to the extraction of salt from sea water; that they were cultic sites; that they were for fishermen; etc. Nowadays the suggestion of A. Ramishvili - that the dune settlements were linked to the processing of magnetite sands - is gaining wider and wider acceptance as the correct interpretation.4 The main type of fuel used in smelting was charcoal and there were large numbers of forests in Colchis, as well as the fire-resistant clay so essential to the smelting process (Khakhutaishvili 1987, ). END OF THE 7TH CENTURY AND BEGINNING OF THE 6TH CENTURY BC In the archaeology of Colchis this period is characterised by two phenomena of crucial importance: It is notable that traces of fire can be identified in many of the settlements dated to the end of the 7th and/or the beginning of the 6th centuries BC. In the main, these settlements were situated to the North of the River Phasis (Gogadze 1982, 50-1; Kakhidze and Khakhutaishvili 1989, 56-7, etc.). This would point to some kind of general catastrophe. At that time a large number of Scythian objects was encountered (akinakes, chapes, craft articles, bronze bridles, bone cheek-plates, etc.) (Figs ). These objects have been found in 20 sites (burial grounds and settlements) (Pirtskhalava 1978,31-52; Pogrebova 1984,207-26; Esayan and Pogrebova 1985, 19-39; cf Sulimirski 1954, ). It was precisely then that the Scythians were returning from Asia Minor to the region to the North of the Black Sea (Tekhov 1980, 5-20, with literature).' There are good reasons for assuming, therefore, that the traces of fire should be linked with the return of the Scythians from Asia Minor to the northern Black Sea via Colchis. The large quantity of Scythian objects shows not just that the Scythians passed through Colchis but also that some of them settled there long term (particularly within the territory of modern Abkhazia, where the largest numbers of Scythian objects have been found) (Trapsh 1962, 81; Pogrebova 1969, 186-7). This is also demonstrated by the fact that virtually all weapons produced in Colchis between the 6th and 1st centuries BC were of the Scythian type (Voronov 1975, ) (Fig. 17, 7-8; 19).6 The Scythian 'incursion' is more than likely to have had dramatic consequences. We may also assume that many members of the local tribes perished. The culture of Colchis in the 6th century BC, and in particular in the 5th, reveals various new features quite different from those found in the 8th-7th centuries BC. Although some degree of continuity is to be observed in the 5th century BC we know virtually nothing of Colchian material culture during the first half of the 6th century BC. Does not all of this show that after the Scythians had passed through Colchis and some of them had stayed behind, there was some kind of lacuna, and that by the middle of the 6th century new tribes had appeared who created the culture which modern scholars know as Colchian culture of the 6th-1st centuries BC? Of course, this is currently no more than a hypothesis, but it appears highly OXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY 314 Q Blackwell Publishers Lld. 1995

9 Figure 7 Bronze and iron items from the burial-grounds of Colchis (end of 7th c BC) (After Mikeladze 1990, tabl. 23) feasible. We do not know of any local archaeological complexes that have been precisely dated to the first half or even the middle of the 6th century. A broad date is usually given - namely the 6th century BC. It is only in the second half of the 6th century that local objects can be dated with any degree of precision and then only in those cases where Greek imports are found on the site (several fragments of Ionian pottery have been dated to the first half of the 6th century). THE APPEARANCE OF THE GREEKS IN COLCHIS In Colchis, according to the ancient authors, the colonists from Miletus founded three cities in the middle of the 6th century BC: Phasis, Gyenos and Dioscuria. Archaeological excavation has shown that there were two further Greek settlements - in Pichvnari and Tsikhisdziri. The question of the Greek colonisation of Colchis is a complex and controversial one, not least because the Greek cities there have not been the subject of archaeological investigation. In all probability independent poleis existed in C~lchis.~ We know nothing about either Greek craft production in Colchis in the period of the 6thfirst half of the 4th centuries BC or metalworking (except production of precious metals and seals and gems - see below) at the time when there were Greek cities in Eastern Pontus (mid-6th century- 1 st century BC).8 There are three possible explanations: that the Greeks did not engage in metal-working at all; that they did so only on a very small scale (which seems to me the most likely); or the inadequacy of the investigation of the Greek cities to date. Of interest in this connection is the remarkable cs) Blackwell Publishers Ltd

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11 fact that in Greek burials of the 5th century in Pichvnari only imported metal vessels and gold ornaments were found, plus, on very rare occasions, jewellery of local Colchian manufacture (small bells and bracelets) (Kakhidze 1975, passim). METALLURGY IN COLCHIS IN THE 6TH- IST CENTURIES BC In the 6th-5th centuries BC the processing of bronze was still going on. In that period bronze was being used to make jewellery. In the 5th century large cauldrons were also being made; these are encountered in burials. The centres of production for such items were probably in the mountainous regions of Colchis (such as Racha) (Lordkipanidze , 82-4). In the Hellenistic period Greek craftsmen (who made their way to Vani from Asia Minor) cast bronze statues in Colchis: in both Vani and Sakanchia (the manufacturing district of the city of Vani) traces of bronzecasting have been found (Lordkipanidze a, ). Among the types of iron tool used in agriculture the following can be identified: hoe, axe, plough, flat and oblong axes, sickle and knife (Figs. 17, 1-2; 18, 3-5, 8-14). Noteworthy is the marked drop in quantity compared with the amounts recorded for the period before Greek colonisation. In the settlements of the latter period very few moulds for casting such tools are to be found (Dzidziguri 1990). It has already been mentioned that locally produced weapons were all of the Scythian type and were concentrated in the northern part of Colchis. Probably, they had been made by Scythians who had settled there (Fig. 19). In the burials of that time small numbers of weapons were found (in burials of the 7th century there are weapons by the dozen). Some statistics will help (limited to weapons because of the extremen rarity of tools in the graves): South-western Colchis Pichvnari: Colchian burial-ground of the 5th century BC. Weapons were found in 2 of the 158 burials (published to date) (Kakhidze 1981, 18-32). Tsikhisdzin': Cemetery of the 5th-3rd centuries BC. Twelve weapons were found in the 303 burials in~estigated.~ Central Colchis Dapnari: Burial-ground of the late 4th-2nd centuries BC. Weapons were not found in any of the 38 jug-burials excavated (Kiguradze 1976, 14-57). Zemo Partskhma: Burialground of the late 4th-2nd centuries BC. Weapons were not found in any of the 35 jugburials (Vashakidze 1985, ). Northern Colchis Guadikhy: Burials of the 4th-3rd centuries BC. 32 weapons were found in the 59 burials investigated (Trapsh 1969, 242-8). Krasni Mayak: Burials of the 5th-3rd centuries BC. 11 weapons were found in the 36 burials investigated (Trapsh 1969, ). In the rich burials in Vani and Sairkhe weapons are encountered in the graves of warriors. The weapons are either of the Scythian type (produced in Colchis) or Greek or Achaemenian ones (Lordkipanidze G. 1976, ; Tsetskhladze 1993/4, 22-3, with literature). As can be seen from the above figures the tribes of South-western and Central Colchis lived in peace and they had no need to produce weapons. lo The population of Northern Colchis, on the other hand, is differentiated by the large number of weapons found there. The tribes who lived within the chora of Dioscuria needed to protect themselves against the Heniochi and Zygi - tribes that lived outside it and who were notorious for their 0 Blackwell Publishers Ltd

12 DID THE GREEKS GO TO COLCHIS FOR METALS? c crns w 4,, u iuu crns I crns u 7 L I I crns crns. - V crns I- - Figure 10 Iron smelting kilns from western Georgia 1-5. First half of the first millenium BC 6. Classical 7. Early Mediaeval 8. 18th-19th centuries (After Khakhutaishvili 1987, 200, fig. 67) Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 1995

13 zq4, aar Figure 11 Pattern of location of iron-smelting hearths in Colchis (before 6th c BC) (After Khakhutaishvili 1987, 42. fig. 1) piracy (Diod ; Strabo ; Plin. NH ). In that same area helmets of Attic and Corinthian types were found dating from the 5th-4th centuries BC as well as a shield originating from Samos and dating from the second half of the 6th century BC (Tsetskhladze 1994a, 86-7, with literature). During excavation of settlements slag or nozzles from furnaces are sometimes found, but not the furnaces themselves. The impression emerges that in Colchis in the 6th-1st centuries BC there was no need to work iron in large quantifies. In the settlements it is highly likely that there existed some small centres for the production of jewellery (iron bracelets are found in burials) and tools. The explanation may be a decline in land under cultivation, though other explanations are possible. In the central part of Colchis viticulture and the preparation of building timber were the main occupations of the local population; meanwhile, grain was imported (from the Bosporan Kingdom) (Khakhutaishvili 1984, ; Tsetskhladze 1992a, 252-6). I' In the city-site of Eshera, for instance, in the level of the 6th-5th centuries BC only six metal objects were found (according to publication), of which five were pieces of jewellery. In the level of the 4th- 1st centuries BC there were iron keys, needles, scissors, 'c) Blackwell Publishers Ltd

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15 weapons and items of jewellery (the latter two in connection with destroyed burials) (Shamba 1980, 23, 42-54). It may be noted that iron nails were used in the area in the fabrication of coffins in funeral rituals, and that they were produced, most probably, in small scale workshops situated in the settlements to which the burial grounds belong (Figs ). IRON-SMELTING WORKSHOPS Whereas there were about 400 such workshops before the arrival of the Greeks in Colchis, in the 6th- 1 st centuries BC only two (!) have been recorded. The first, found in Dapnari in the level of the 5th-4th centuries, consisted of the remains of a round furnace built up of round blocks of compressed clay. At the same site nozzles and slag were also found (iron content 63.2%). It has proved impossible to make a reconstruction of the furnace in question (Lordkipanidze G. 1978, 101). The second furnace appears to have been found in the Supsa-Gubazeuli area (south-west Colchis) and consisted of an iron-smelting hearth (Figs. 10,6; 17, A). Fragments of red or brown fired pots typical of the Classical period were used for dating purposes (Khakhutaishvili 1987, 119). It would, however, appear highly questionable to date a whole site on the basis of the colour of the fired sherds found there. If we accept the hypothesis, found frequently in the literature, that in Colchis in the 6th- 1st centuries BC iron metallurgy existed on a very large scale, where are the furnaces? Was the iron produced in only two workshops? Where have the items that were originally found in large numbers gone? Did the Greeks export all the iron from Colchis? Is this why there is nothing left behind for the archaeologist (or even for the Colchian population)? - after all, enormous quantities of items from the 7th century BC have been found, in addition to the (about) 400 workshops. It would be inappropriate to offer as an explanation that everything from the 6th- 1st centuries BC has simply not survived. We are left, therefore, with more questions than answers. SOURCES OF RAW MATERIALS While answering this question for the 7th century BC was simple, for the subsequent period it is far less so. As mentioned above, the coastal dune settlements (where magnetite sands were extracted) had ceased to exist by the 6th century BC. It could be assumed that the work of extraction continued through to the 1st century BC but this is unlikely: no traces of it have survived. The find of the above mentioned Dapnari slag with its 63.2 % iron content must indicate that the raw material had been brought there from the mountainous regions and not from the beach. (It has already been mentioned that magnetite slag does not contain iron). From this follows the question: was Colchis rich in iron ore? The answer is no. Modern maps of Georgia s mineral resources mark only one place in the western part of the country as possessing iron: Ureki, with its magnetite sands. In eastern Georgia (ancient Iberia) only two places with iron deposits are marked (Collection of Maps 1992, no. 9). As D. Braund (1994, 90) notes: Greeks located the origins of iron-production and the great centre of that industry among the Chalybes, where further innovation in metaltechnology was also located (Strabo ; Aristotle, De mir. ausc. 48). Since the Chalybes were neighbours of the Colchians to the south-west, the tradition about the Chalybes has been taken to include Colchians [Kakhutaishvili 1987,208; cf: Lordkipanidze , 801, despite the inescapable fact that Colchians are never named in this regard, nor were Chalybes Colchians. 0 Blackwell Publishers Ltd

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17 Go Id PRODUCTION OF PRECIOUS METALS Early gold objects in Colchis were found in three hoards of bronze items dating from the 7th century BC. Gold objects were represented by open-work or granulated beads, pendants of various shapes, a fragment of a triangular plate bearing a depiction of a lion enfuce and a fragment of a gold bracelet complete with snakes heads (Apakidze 199 1, 48-50). Stylistic analysis of the last two items indicates that they were most likely imports from the Near East. Two open-work rings (imported?) were found in the Ergeti burial-ground dating from the 7th century BC (Apakidze 1991, 48-50) (Fig. 8, 19). From the settlement at Simagre a gold pendant, complete with granulation, has been dated to the first half of the 6th century BC (Mikeladze 1978, 62-2). Only from the first half or middle of the 5th century BC is it possible to talk in terms of the mass production of gold items in Colchis. This is on the basis of the discovery of hundreds of items of gold jewellery in burials of the local Clite in Vani (Lordkipanidze , )12 and Sairkhe (Nadiradze 1990,22-97) - diadems, earrings, pendants, bracelets, necklaces etc., all of which show craftsmanship and artistry of the highest quality. Undoubtedly, some of these items were made locally (for further discussion see below). The technique of granulation made its way to Colchis from ancient Persia. Some of the items had been imported from Greece and some may have been diplomatic gifts from Achaemenian rulers (Tsetskhladze 1993/4, 1 1-7). In Colchis, as indeed in Macedonia (Higgins 1971/2, ), the goldsmith s art catered to the Clite. In the burials of the general population very few gold items have been found. Chance finds in Vani of a small gold ingot, gold drops, off-cuts of gold plates, goldsmith s stock such as gold wire and fragments of unused stamped wire, etc. all point to the presence in Vani of workshops for the manufacture of gold jewellery (Chqonia 1977,75-7). The question to be asked is: who was working in these workshops? There is no ancient local tradition of working with gold to which to turn: it has been pointed out already that gold items of the 7th or early 6th centuries only appear as isolated finds. There is an interval of nearly a century before massproduction for the elite began, during which not a single gold item has been found. Highly artistic traditions of the kind noted here do not grow up over a few years, or even a few decades. As J. Boardman (1993, 358) has pointed out: East Greek artists were making jewellery for Colchians. Moreover, it was Ionians who established and worked in a workshop manufacturing metal seals and engraved gem stones for the Colchian Clite (Lordkipanidze M. 1975, ). Thus a local school for the manufacture of gold items to satisfy the needs of the Clite existed in Colchis from the first half or middle of the 5th century BC. It was, however, set up by the Greeks, who tried to adapt their art to the tastes of the Colchian rulers. Hence it is appropriate to speak of a Greek school of goldsmith s art in Colchis rather than of a Colchian school (as with the manufacture of seals and gems). Local craftsmen had neither the requisite traditions nor skills. What was the source of the gold? According to Strabo ( ) and Appian (Mithr. 103) Colchians obtained it from mountain rivers, which contained small pieces of the metal, using the fleeces of sheep. Taking their cue from these ancient authors, scholars have believed this to be the main source of the precious metal for gold-rich and once mighty Colchis (Lordkipanidze , ). Reference is usually made to L. Bochorishvili (1946, 283-9), who saw and described gold G Blackwell Publishers Ltd

18 w N P 2 2 I B U 0 5 crns 5 I A I 2 Figure 16 Bronze (1, 5) and bone (2-4) pommels of Scythian swords from Colchis (After Pirtskhalava 1978, tabl. 13) Figure 17 Iron production of Colchis (6th-5th cc BC) A - iron smelting kiln B - iron items: 1-4, tools; 5-8, weapons; 9, bridle (After Koshelenko 1985, 116)

19 being obtained by the same method in Svaneti (a region in the mountains of Colchis) as recently as the 1940s. As D. Braund (1994, 24-5) notes:... The fieldworker, Botchorishvili [sic], was notably more cautious in her account than have been her followers. Botchorishvili s essential problem was that she did not witness the use of fleeces for this purpose, though it has subsequently been claimed that she did. Rather she relied on the reports of three elderly mountain-men whose credibility is not beyond question.... It is not, of course, out of the question that the mountainous rivers of Colchis did contain pieces of gold. There is no other source of gold in Georgia - in present-day Georgia no gold is obtained from any source. The point at issue is how much gold the rivers might have washed down from the Caucasus mountains to supply adequately local production of gold items for the tlite - it is as well to remember that their burials contained hundreds of pieces of gold jewellery - and to have enough to export to Greece. One thing is certain. The Greeks would not have been able to settle in Colchis in the middle of the 6th century in order to export gold, for it was they themselves who initiated the production of gold items in Colchis, and that was in the 5th century BC. In the 6th century BC, during the period of colonisation, there were no goldsmiths active in Colchis. the story of gold-rich Colchis was most probably incorporated into the Myth of the Argonauts in the 5th century BC (cf. Herodotus 7.193), by which time (thanks to the Greeks) schools of goldsmiths had been established in Vani and Sairkhe (Tsetskhladze 1994c, 114). Silver Early silver jewellery has been found in two burials in the burial-ground at Ergeti (7th century BC) and silver ingots have been discovered in one of the hoards of bronze items (Chuburkhindzh), in which there were also gold objects (7th century BC) (Apakidze 1991, 49). Silver and gold objects appeared in Colchis at one and the same time. Large-scale production of silver jewellery began in the 5th century BC. Silver diadems, and ear and finger rings etc. were manufactured. Most common were bracelets, decorated with engraved geometric designs and with the heads of animals at their ends. In style, work in silver generally echoed that in gold (Lordkipanidze , 84) and we may, therefore, assume that the silversmiths, like the goldsmiths, were catering for the Clite. It should be pointed out that fewer silver items were found in burials than gold ones. The two types of craftsmanship appear to have developed alongside one another. Silver cups were also produced in Colchis, but so far only one has been found: it wits manufactured in Phasis in the last quarter of the 5th century BC by a local craftsman trained by a Greek and appears to have been a utensil for the Temple of Apollo (Tsetskhladze 1994b, ). In graves of the nobility silver vessels of Greek (Lordkipanidze a, 89-91; Machabeli 1983, 5-29, pls. 7-14) or Achaemenian (Tsetskhladze , 17-20) manufacture are often encountered. Silver coins (so-called kolchidki ) were issued in Colchis from the end of the 6th century to the 4th century BC. There has been much controversy as to who minted them - Greeks or the Colchian authorities - but there is now a growing acceptance by scholars that they were issued by the Greeks in Phasis (Dundua 1987, 9-32). Colchis was poorly endowed with silver. We still do not know whence silver made its way to Colchis. The mountains near Trabzon were rich in silver (if we accept that such was the source than it means that silver was exported to Colchis). Less productive, but better fc> Blackwell Publishers Ltd

20 DID THE GREEKS GO TO COLCHIS FOR METALS? c Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 1995

21 situated, were sources in Racha and Svanetia (in the mountainous region of Colchis). Trialeti is another possibility (Braund 1994, 121). CONCLUSIONS The bronze industry played an important part in Colchis, from the middle of the second millennium BC right through to the Hellenistic period. The production of iron in this region of Pontus appears to have begun at the end of the 7th century BC. It was on an enormous scale from the outset: there were some 400 furnaces and a large number of articles was found in burials. This industry developed using local resources of magnetitic sand. At the end of the 7th century the Scythians passed through Colchis on their return to the region to the north of the Black Sea from Asia Minor destroying many settlements as they passed. Some Scythians settled in Colchis. The first iron weapons in burials were often encountered together with Scythian weapons. Does the foregoing not suggest that iron-working in Colchis was introduced from Asia Minor by the Scythians? After all, the weapons unearthed from the following centuries were always of the Scythian type. In the first half of the 6th century BC a certain lacuna was to be observed in the material culture of Colchis: perhaps this was the result of the Scythian incursion into Colchis. In the middle of the 6th century the Greeks embarked upon their colonising activity in Colchis. Thereafter the iron industry declined, existing only on a small scale in each settlement and never to resume operations of the previous magnitude (only two furnaces have been found). The Greeks set up goldsmiths workshops in the 5th century BC and it is possible that they also produced silver items. Again, it should be emphasised that Colchis was not richly endowed with iron, gold or silver. It is highly unlikely that Colchian resources would have been sufficient to supply the needs of Colchian craftsmen and to provide for the export of metals to Greece as well. So we need to ask: did the Greeks settle in Colchis in order to export iron, gold and silver from the region to the East of the Black Sea to Greece? As the archaeological materials discussed above have shown, this is highly unlikely. I3 The reasons for the colonisation were far more complex. In the middle of the 6th century BC the Ionians were not concerned with the natural wealth of Colchis, or of other regions on the Black Sea coast: they were fleeing from the Persian king who was beginning to conquer their homeland (Tsetskhladze 1994c, 125; cf Cawkwell, 1992, and Boardman 1994,341, note 1). In such a situation it is not very likely that they would have been devoting their attention to the gold-rich rivers of Colchis. Had it not been for these disasters in Ionia, I think it improbable that the Greeks would have settled in Colchis at all because of the inhospitable natural conditions (swamps and wetlands) peculiar to the coastal strip of Eastern Pontus (Tsetskhladze 1992a, 252-7; Khakhutaishvili 1984, ; Kiknadze 1990, 39-70, ). Even the Scythians settled only in Northern Colchis, in the environs of Dioscuria, where the natural conditions were more inviting. They preferred to live at odds with the local population of that part of Colchis than to live at peace in the swamps. Acknowledgements This paper presents a small part of larger joint project with Prof. M.J. Treister (Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow) on metallurgy in Eastern Pontus. The main aim of this project is to study this question from every angle using all the available evidence in order to place the Eastern Black Sea within the context of metal production and the trade in metals in the Greek world. The idea for this project came from Prof. Treister to whom I am most grateful for the suggestion. I wish to thank Prof. Sir John si Blackwell Publishers Ltd

22 DID THE GREEKS GO TO COLCHIS FOR METALS? Boardman and Prof. A.J. Graham for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this article. I should also like to thank Mrs. K. Judelson and Dr. J.F. Hargrave for their assistance. Department of Classics Royal Holloway University of London Egham, Surrey TW20 OEX, UK NOTES 1. Lordkipanidze b, ; Treister 1988,36: Notes Nos contain the main literature, in which scholars accept that the Greeks search for metals was the main reason for the colonisation of Colchis. Treister points out that by the 6th century BC iron was sufficiently widespread in Greece, for there to be no need for it to be exported from Colchis. See also: Treister 1992, (with literature). 2. However, stylistically the figurine from Samos does not correspond at all closely with Greek ones. It is possible that the figurines from Samos and Ureki were both produced somewhere in the Near East. Such figurines are also unusual amongst Colchian bronze output although some distant similarities could be found. It seems more likely that both were produced in the Near East: there are many Near Eastern objects of this period in Samos (Jantzen 1972, passim; Moorey 1974, ; Muscarella 1978, 61-72); in Colchis (Vani) clay figurines of two-headed fantastic animals (7th century) were found (Lordkipanidze , ) whose style and inspiration derived, most probably, from Persia (Luristan) (Boardman 1994, 341, note 102). 3. The author includes in this map the south-east Black Sea where the Chalybes, Macrones, Mosynoeci and Tibareni used to live - an area never within the Colchian kingdom. 4. On the question of the dune settlements and the controversy that centres upon them in the literature, see: Tavamaishvili 1991, Literature in western European languages on the Scythians can be found in: CAH 1991,560-90; Cunliffe 1994, Moreover, from the end of the 7th century BC throughout Colchis jugs with so-called vertical tubular handles became widespread (Mikeladze ). This pottery was produced locally from local clay and represents a completely new type for Colchian culture. At the same time, such jugs were recorded in the orbit of Iranian culture where jugs of exactly the same type start to appear at the beginning of the 1st millennium BC (Ghirshman 1964, 128, fig. 170; Dyson 1965, fig. 7. Seeher 1992, 10, fig. 3 and 18, fig. 9; Tuba Okse 1992, 55, fig. 4 and 59, fig. 5). Penetration of this type of pottery shows either that there was migration by some tribes from Iran to eastern Pontus or that it was brought by Scythians into Colchis. 7. On Greek cities and the Greek colonisation of Colchis, with literature, see: Tsetskhladze 1992a, ; 1994a ; 1994d ; Braund 1994, For the Hellenistic period there is evidence of: the Greeks producing pottery in Colchis (amphorae as well as tiles, both with stamps bearing Greek inscriptions); use of the Greek language for official decrees by local rulers; and that the Greek system of weights was widespread in Colchis, etc. See (with literature): Tsetskhladze 1991,361-81; 1993,56-74; Tsetskhladze and Vnukov 1992,357-86; Vinogradov, On Greek imports from Colchis (with literature), see: Tsetskhladze lc. 2b, The materials have not been published. The information has been taken from field reports. 10. Greek influence on the funerary rites of the local population can be used to explain why no weapons or very few were found in the graves of Colchians (5th- 1st cc BC) - although there are practically no weapons in the graves of Classical Greece we know that there was constant warfare (Snodgrass ) - but as there are considerable numbers of weapons in graves in northern Colchis, this explanation is unlikely to be the correct one. 11. There are still swamps in the coastal area of western Georgia which have been subject to large-scale drainage schemes (continuing), see: Kiknadze 1990, 39-70, See also: Lordkipanidze the volume is a full publication of the gold objects from this site studied by A.M. Chqonia. 13. For a long time the scholarly literature has claimed that the prinicipal reason for the Greek colonisation of the sourthem Black Sea was the area s richness in metals. However, a more recent study has shown that the area was far from being as well endowed as had been supposed (De Jesus, 1978, ) Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 1995

23 ABBREVIATIONS ABSA - Annual of the British School of Archaeology in Athens CAH - Cambridge Ancient History CQ - Classical Quarterly DHA - Dialogues d'histoire ancienne Ist. Mit. - Istambuler Mitteilungen JANESCU - Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society of Columbia University JNES - Journal of Near Eastern Studies MBAH - Miinstersche Beitrlfge zur Antiken Handelsgeschichte OJ - Oxford Journal of Archaeology SA - Sovetskaya Archeologia VDI - Vestnik Drevnei Istorii REFERENCES APAKIDZE, J.B. 1991: Central Colchis in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages (Tbilisi) (in Russian). BOARDMAN, I. (4.). 1993: The Oxford History Of Classical Art (Oxford: Oxford University Press). BOARDMAN. J. 1994: The Diffusion of Classical Art in Antiquity (London). BOCHORISHVILI. L. 1946: The Goldsmith's Art in Svanetia. Bulletin of the Georgian SSR Academy of Sciences VII (5), (in Russian). BOUZEK. J. 1974: Graeco-Macedonian Bronzes (Prague). BRAUND. D. 1994: Georgia in Antiquity. A History of Colchis and Transcaucasian Iberia, 550 BC-AD 562 (Oxford: Oxford University Press). CAH 1991: Vol. 111, Part 2 (2nd Edition) (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). CAWKWELL. G.L. 1992: Early Colonization. CQ 42, : Towards a Study of the CHQONIA. A.M. Goldsmith's Art in Colchis. Shon Bulletins of the Insrifute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR 151, (in Russian). Collection of Maps of Georgia: 1992 (Tbilisi) (in Georgian) CUNLIFFE. B. (ed.) 1994: The Oxford Illustrated Prehistory of Europe (Oxford: Oxford University Press). DE JESUS, P. 1978: Metal Resources in Ancient Anatolia. Anatolian Studies 28, DUNDUA, G.F. 1987: Ihe Numismatics of Ancient Georgia (Tbilisi) (in Russian). DYSON, R.H. 1965: Problems of Protohistoric Iran as seen from Hasanlu. INES 27, DZIDZIGURI, L. 1990: The Iron Farming Implemenrs of Ancient Colchis (Tbilisi) (in Russian), (preprint). ESAYAN, S.A. and POGREBOVA, M.N. 1985: Scythian Antiquities in Transcaucasia (Moscow) (in Russian). GHIRSHMAN, R. 1964: Iran, Protoxoiraniez, Medez, Achameniden (Munich). GOGADZE. E.M. 1982: The Culture of Settlements in Colchis in the Bronze and Early Iron Age (Tbilisi) (in Georgian). HIGGINS. R.A : Macedonian Royal Jewellery. In Barr-Sharrar, B. and Born, E.N. (eds.), Macedonia and Greece in Late Classical and Early Hellenistic Times (National Gallery of Art: Studies in the History of Art, Vol. 10) (Washington DC), JANTZEN, u. 1972: Agyptische und Orientalische bronzen aus dem Heraion von Samos (Samos 8) (Bonn). KAKHIDZE. A.Y. 1975: Monuments of Ancient Times in the Eastern Black Sea Region (Batumi) (in Georgian). KAKHIDZE, A.Y. 1981: The Eastern Black Sea Region in the Classical Period (Batumi) (in Russian). KAKHIDZE, A.Y. and KHAKHUTAISHVILI, D.A. 1989: Materials on the Ancient History of Batumi (Tbilisi) (in Georgian). KHAKHUTAISHVILI. D.A. 1977: On the Chronology of the Colchian-Chalybian Centre of the Ancient Iron Industry. Questions of Ancient History 5 (Tbilisi) (in Russian). KHAKHUTAISHVILI, D.A. 1984: Nature and Human Beings in the Sea Coast of Colchis in the Holocene Period. Caucasian-Near Eastern Collection VII (Tbilisi), (in Russian). wakhutaishvil1, D.A. 1987: Iron Production in Ancient Colchis (Tbilisi) (in Russian). KIGURADZE, N. 1976: The Burial-ground at Dapnari (Tbilisi) (in Russian). KIKNADZE. T.Z. (ed.) 1990: The Colchian Plain (Moscow) (in Russian). 0 Blackwell Publishers Ltd

24 DID THE GREEKS GO TO COLCHIS FOR METALS? KOSHELENKO, G.A. (ed.) 1985: Ancient States of the Caucasus and Central Asia (Moscow) (in Russian). LORDKIPANIDZE, G.A. 1976: Weapons and production Tools. In Lordkipanidze, O.D. (ed.), Vani II (Tbilisi), (in Georgian). LORDKIPANIDZE, G.A. 1978: Colchis in the 6th-2nd Centuries BC (Tbilisi) (in Russian). LORDKIPANIDZE. M.N. 1975: Colchian Ring-seals of the 5th-3rd Centuries BC: Questions as to relations with Greek Workshops (Tbilisi) (in Georgian). LORDKIPANIDZE, O.D. 1978: Ancient Colchis (Tbilisi) (in Russian). LORDKIPANIDZE, O.D. (ed.) 1981: Vani VI (Tbilisi) (in Georgian). LORDKIPANIDZE, O.D. (4.) 1983a: Vani VII (Tbilisi) (in Georgian). LORDKIPANIDZE. O.D. 1983b: The Graeco-Roman World and Ancient Georgia (Colchis and Iberia). In Modes de contacts etprocessus de trans ormation dans les sociktks anciennes (Collection de I l Cole Francaise de Rome) (Pise-Rome), LORDKIPANIDZE, O.D. 1989a: A New Find in Vani. VDI 3, (in Russian). LORDKIPANIDZE. O.D. 1989b: The Heritage Of Ancient Georgia (Tbilisi) (in Russian). LORDKIPANIDZE, O.D. 1991: Vani: An Ancient City of Colchis. Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 32(2), MACHABELI, K. 1983: The Silver of Ancient Georgia (Tbilisi) (in Georgian). MIKELADZE, T.K. 1974: Investigations in the History of the Ancient Population of Colchis and of the Southwestern Black Sea Lifforal (Tbilisi) (in Georgian). MIKELADZE, T.K. 1978: Archaeological Investigations in the Lower Reaches of the River Rioni (Tbilisi) (in Georgian). MIKELADZE, T.K. 1985: Colchian Burial-grounds Of the Early Iron Age (Tbilisi) (in Georgian). MIKELADZE. T.K. 1990: on the Archaeology Of Colchis (Tbilisi) (in Russian). MOBIUS, H. 1938: Kaukasische Glocken in Samos. In Sprockhoff, E. (ed.), Marburger Studient (Darmstadt) MOOREY, P.R.S. 1974: Ancient Persian Bronzes from the Island of Samos. Iran 12, MUSCARELLA. O.W. 1978: Urartian Bells and Samos. JAh ESCU 10, MUSCARELLA, O.W. 1988: Bronze and iron Ancient Near Eastern Artifacts in The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York). NADIRADZE, D.S. 1990: Sairkhe - and Ancient City of Georgia (Tbilisi) (in Georgian). PANTSKHAVA. L.N. Monuments of the Artistic Craftsmanship of Colchian Culture (Tbilisi) (in Georgian). PIRTSKHALAVA, M.S. 1978: On the Question of the Spread of Antiquities of Scythian Culture in Ancient Georgia. In Lordkipanidze, O.D. (ed.), Questions of the Archaeology of Georgia 1 (Tbilisi), (in Georgia). POOREBOVA, M.N. 1969: Iron Axes of a Scythian Type in Transcaucasia. SA 2, (in Russian). POGREBOVA. M.N. 1984: Transcaucasia and its Links with Asia Minor in Scythian Times (Moscow) (in Russian). PORADA. E. 1967: Of Deer, Bells and Pomegranates. Iranica Antiqua 2, ROSTOVZEFF. M.I. er al. (eds.) 1946: The Excavations at Dura-Europos. Preliminary Report of the Ninth Season of Work (New Haven et al.). SEEHER. I. 1992: Die Nekropole von Demircihuyuk- Sariket. 1st. Mit. 42, SHAMBA, G.K. 1980: The City-site of Eshera (Tbilisi)(in Russian). SNODGRASS, A.M. 1967: Arms and Armour of the Greeks (Ithaca, New York). SPEAR, N. 1978: A Treasury of Archaeological Bells (New York). SULIMIRSKI. T. 1954: Scythian Antiquities in Western Asia. Artibus Asiae 17(3/4), TAVAMAISHVILI. G.G : on the Purpose Underlying the Coastal Settlements. Sites of South-western Georgia 19, (Tbilisi) (in Georgian). TEKHOV. B.V. 1980: The Scythians and the Central Caucasus in the VII-VI Centuries BC (Moscow) (in Russian). 1962: Monuments of Colchain and TRAPSH. M.M. Scythian Culture in the Village of Kulanurkhva, Abkhazian ASSR (Sukhumi) (in Russian) Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 1995