Gonio (Apsaros) (Georgia)
Dates of work: 28 June–26 July 2014
Team:
Co-directors: Prof. Shota Mamuladze (Gonio-Apsarus Museum and Sanctuary, Batumi, Georgia) and Dr. Radosław Karasiewicz-Szczypiorski (Institute of Archaeology, University of Warsaw
Archaeologists: Maciej Czapski (independent), Viacheslav Gerasimov (Institute of Archaeology, University of Warsaw), Jakub Kaniszewski (independent), Maciej Marciniak (PhD candidate, Faculty of History, University of Warsaw), Ewelina Mizak (independent), Karolina Trusz (independent), Agata Trzop-Szczypiorska (volunteer)
Student-trainees: Dominika Gawęda, Krystyna Kania, Oskar Kubrak, Dorota Krzyżaniak, Ilona Nowak, Katarzyna Prystupa, Paulina Stachowicz, Patrycja Śpiołek, Daria Trzos, Anna Zydler (Institute of Archaeology, University of Warsaw)
Volunteers: Laura Czebotar, Henryk Kaźmierczak, Ignacy Krzyszczak, Katarzyna Langenegger
(Joint description of seasons 2014 and 2015)
The Roman fort of Apsaros in Gonio (Ajara, Georgia) still holds answers to maany issues connected with the Roman military presence on the Tschoroki river in ancient Colchis. In 2014, a Polish team joined the Georgian expedition to excavate in two sectors diretly east of the centrally located principia. The sites were chosen based on a study of the results of a geophysical prospection carried out in 2012. Two phases dated respectively to the early and late Roman periods were recorded. The early Roman architecture was interpreted as part of the installations and structures of a large bathhouse (balneae), including a mosaic floor in one of the rooms. The building was destroyed at least twice, most likely in a catastrophic fire. The article discusses the stratigraphy and the dating of the early Roman balneae based on glass artifacts and coins.
The Gonio-Apsarus Museum and Sanctuary of Cultural Heritage Preservation Agency of Ajara, Georgia, partners the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology and the Institute of Archaeology of the University of Warsaw on this project. Special thanks to the Rainbow travel agency for help in organizing transfers for team members.
[Text: Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 25]