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By Avtandil Okrostsvaridze
The Argonauts:
A Modern Investigation of
the Mythical “Gold Sands”
LAMBERT
Academic Publishing
Foreword
Dear Reader, I am a naturalist and have never thought of writing a book about
historical events. The idea came to my mind perhaps because of the certain
knowledge which I happen to have about the ancient culture, art and history, as well
as the long time spent exploring gold occurrences in Svaneti region of the Caucasus
Mountains, and the archeology, ethnography and history of this unique land that I
came to learn in detail in the course thereof.
I think that the Antique Era of the Mediterranean was one of the most humane,
progressive, democratic and cultured periods of our civilization, which was trying to
hide all important pragmatic events in a romantic shroud. From the findings of my
scrupulous research, I became sincerely convinced that the voyage of the Argonauts
was a real event, transformed into a beautiful and fascinating legend by the romantic
nature of the Antiquity.
This strong belief of mine, which is not based on romantic feelings however, but
rather on the findings of multidisciplinary, fundamental study, I want to share with
others and that is why I decided to write and publish this book.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Many people have contributed directly or indirectly to the writing and production of
this book, I would like to thank all of them.
First of all, many thanks to my family bravely standing by me during my long
expeditions and always supporting me in my scientific activities.
I would like to thank Dr. Mustafa Mutlu, General Director of the "Golden Fleece“
mining corporation, who has funded this research. Many thanks to my colleagues and
friends Eteri Kilasonia, David Bluashvili, Nona Gagnidze and my students George
Boichenko and Iulia Bobrova for the cooperation and the assistance they have
rendered in making this book.
My thanks and liking to the residents of Svaneti region, for the valuable assistance
they rendered during this work. Special thanks to Mr. Robert G. Blair – economist
geologist (USA),for his valuable advices and comments. I am thankful to Mr.
Nicholas Kilasonia for all his support I received in the translation of the English
version of this book.
And finally, I would like to thank LAMBERT Academic Publishing, which gave
me a chance to share my ideas and thought with the international readers.
CONTENTS
Page
Introduction ............................................................................................................. 5
Theme of Argonauts in the Antique Greek Writing ................................................. 7
The Argonauts trip: a Myth or Reality? .................................................................. 9
The Golden Fleece: a symbol of wealth or a goldimprinted Sheepskin? ................ 15
The Ancient kingdoms of Colchis and Iberia .......................................................... 19
The Colchis ............................................................................................................... 19
The Iberia ………………………………………………………………………… 24
Historic and Ethnographic description of Svaneti .................................................. 31
A general geology of the Caucasus ......................................................................... 40
Geological description of Svaneti region ............................................................... 42
Magmatism of the Svaneti region ............................................................................ 42
A General Description of gold deposits .................................................................. 45
History and method of gold mining ...................................................................... 46
Metallogenic Description of Svaneti region ......................................................... 49
Bedrock Gold Occurrences ....................................................................................... 49
Alluvial Gold Occurrences ...................................................................................... 56
History and methods of gold mining in Svaneti region ........................................ 59
Microscopic study of alluvial gold of Svaneti ...................................................... 65
Findings of Remote Sensing of the Gold Occurrences of Svaneti .......................... 68
Discussion ................................................................................................................. 72
Summary ................................................................................................................... 77
Afterword .................................................................................................................. 78
References ................................................................................................................ 79
Introduction
The legend of the heroic quest of Argonauts is one of the oldest and widely known
myths of our civilization and the Golden Fleece is probably the most enigmatic
phenomenon. For more than 2000 years already, an enormous volume of scientific
research and pieces of art has been dedicated to this legend, with little to no truly
reliable information found so far, though.
The topic has been and is still being studied by historians, archaeologists and writers,
but no one has yet studied it from geological point of view. In the meantime, the
geological argumentation may well prove crucial, as far as, if the Argonauts voyage
has really happened and if the Golden Fleece is somehow linked to the gold mining
technology, that might mean that the Argonauts have carried out one of the first
geological expeditions in the history of our civilization. That is why, we thought
worth examining this ancient scientific dispute from the geological perspective too.
For this reason we decided to carry out this unusual geological research, carefully
comparing the conclusions with the extant historical and archaeological data. Need to
underscore here, that recently, with advent of the modern technologies; the efficacy
of the geological research has increased dramatically, making the findings way more
reliable. In our research, we have used the latest methods of the sample chemical
analysis, more specifically, Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-
MS), Remote Sensing of the Chemical Content of Bedrock and Placers (Aster
Mineral Alteration Mapping), Radiometric Dating (U-Pb dating of zircons by LA-
ICP-MS), Electronic Microscope Scanning of Gold particles, etc. Apart from the
obtained geological information, we have built upon the extant data on the Santorin
Island catastrophe in Aegean Sea near the Crete, radiometric dating of the eruption
consequences, in particular. Beside the geological data, we have worked with the
Greek and Roman ample written sources regarding the ancient Kingdom of Colchis
and also obtained some fresh archaeological and ethnographic data on Svaneti and
matching up these all enabled us to judge upon the probability of Argonauts real
voyage to the Kingdom of Colchis, the findings whereof we offer in the present
book.
In order to form our own opinion, we decided to study the territory of the ancient
Colchis kingdom geologically, in order to find the areas where mining gold from
alluvial placers could have taken place i.e. a place where the Argonauts could have
extracted gold and come to know the ancient mining technologies of this particular
region. For this purpose, our group has carried research for more than 20 years in
the western part of the Republic of Georgia, around the regions of Abkhazia,
Samegrelo, Imereti, Svaneti, Racha, Guria and Adjara. Our work has confirmed
that Svaneti is a region, uniquely, where the locals still wash gold from alluvial
placers through modern domestic, wooden vessels or pans with holes in the bottom
and unto a sheepskin or a fleece, which collects the fine particulate gold; where it is
still possible to wash gold from the sand placers; where one can still find
archaeological artifacts and ethnographical information about the Golden Fleece.
From what we were able to conclude after matching our geological findings with the
existing Greek and Roman written sources, the voyage of Argonauts, a small team of
Greek mythological heroes to the ancient Kingdom of Colchis appears to have
really happened. It is highly probable that the voyage has taken place before the
eruption of the Santorin volcano, between 1570-1580 BC, since Argonauts
represented the Minoan civilization and were in the least likely to be capable of
carrying out an expedition of this scale after the disaster.We assert that the main
purpose of this mission was to obtain gold and gold mining technology from those
who were working along the river sands of the Kingdom of Colchis. As for the
Golden Fleece phenomenon, according to our research, it is connected with the
sheepskin (fleece) technique of gold recovering, which later on resulted in
formation of the romantic concept of the Golden Fleece, that has existed in the
civilized world ever since Homer’s time.
Theme of Argonauts in the Antique Greek writing
The theme of the Argonauts campaign to the kingdom of Colchis has been a source of
inspiration for the Antique Greek Writing from the Odyssey by Homer (VIII cc, BC)
to The Argonautica by Apollonius of Rhodes (III cc, BC). Perhaps, only the legend
of the Trojan Wars could compare with the Argonauts. The great Homer touches
upon this theme in his Odyssey on several occasions, saying that the Argonauts have
journeyed to the kingdom of Colchis long before the Trojan wars. Hesiod (VIII cc,
BC) speaks about Argonauts in his Theogony, saying that they sailed to the river
Phasis (modern-day r. Rioni). Following Hesiod, Eumelus of Corinth (VII cc BC),
a Greek poet, mentions Argonauts in his Corinthiaca. It should be noted, that in
general, pretty much all Greek poets of antiquity have mentioned Argonauts,
however, in its entirety, the story of Argonauts has been narrated by Pindar of
Thebes in his The Epinica (VI -V cc BC).
As for Aeschylus (525 - 456 BC), a founder of the Greek tragedy, he has widely used
the fragments of the Argonauts tale in his Oresteia, a renowned trilogy. Tradition has
it, that apart from this, Aeschylus should have had written a trilogy about Argonauts:
The Argo, The Hypsipyle, and The Cabeiroi, as well as the tragedies: The Phineus and
The Lemnian Women. Another legend says that Sophocles (597-406 BC) has written
about the Argonauts in his Lemniai, The Blind Phineas, The Colchians, The Scythians
and Pelias. Unfortunately, none of the plays have reached our time.From the
tragedies written about the Argonauts only Medea, a tragedy by Euripides has
survived, a plot of which turns around the horrible vengeance by Medea.
The most of the extant fragments and also a footnote reference from Argonautica, a
poem by Apollonius of Rhodes, prove that the theme of Argonauts has been touched
upon by Hecataeus of Miletus, Skilak of Kariand and other writers. The poem
several times mentions Herodorus of Heracles, a predecessor of Herodotus, as the
author of a prosaic version of Argonautica. Herodotus (484 - 425 BC), dubbed the
father of history, has no mention of the Argonauts in his Histories, but writes about
the Colchians as of the descendants of the ancient Egyptians.
The first complete, fundamental work on the Argonauts theme is the Argonautica by
Apollonius of Rhodes (295 - 215 BC), that tells the whole story of the Argonauts
adventure in Colchis in a poetic way, from the very outset of the voyage at the port
of Yolkos, all the way down to the Aya (the modern-day city of Kutaisi in Georgia)
and back to Thessaly, together with the precious trophy of the Golden Fleece.
Besides, in this source, for the first time in the Antique Greek writing had been
provided more or less complete information about the Kingdom of Colchis. The
poem describes the country and the inhabitants thereof, mentions the ethnographic
and geographic place names of Colchis - invaluable information for the historians of
this country.
This is a short review of the ancient Greek writings on the Argonauts theme.
However, the list is so long that it is impossible to discuss it here in full. For the
purposes of our research, we have no interest in the artistic value thereof, the most
important being that the majority of the writings speak of the Argonauts voyage as of
a true story, a historical event. In addition, The Odyssey by Homer asserts that the
Argonauts have traveled to Colchis much earlier than the Trojan Wars happened,
which is a very important fact for our research.
The Argonauts’ trip: A Myth or Reality?
As is known, the ancient Greeks believed that the universe was ruled by immortal and
powerful gods which designed the lives of the mortals. That is why, Greeks have
been inventing numerous legends and myths, that blended later with many historical
events that have really taken place in the history and vice versa - true historical events
formed the plots of legends and myths. Because of this, scholars often base upon the
myths and legends in their research of the ancient Greek civilization.
The Greek tale of the Argonauts heroic voyage has been one of the oldest and famous
legends of our civilization. According to one of the versions of this myth, Hermes
sent Hera a golden ram by an order from Zeus himself. Phrixus and Helle, children
of the king Athamas, flew to Asia on the ram's back, to escape from Ino, their
stepmother. Helle fell into the sea on the way and draw ned, while Phrixus reached
the kingdom of Colchis and sacrificed the ram to Zeus, gifting the golden sheepskin
to Aeëtes, king of Colchis. The golden sheepskin (known as the Golden Fleece
afterwards), became henceforth a symbol of prosperity of Colchians and was
guarded by dragon in the holy grove of Ares.
Pelias, king of Thessaly, promised his throne to Jason, his nephew in exchange to
the Golden Fleece from Colchis. Having accepted the offer, Jason ordered Argus, a
shipbuilder, to build a ship, having named the ship Argo and the crew - the
Argonauts, accordingly. Then, Jason convoked a 50-person team of selected
warriors of Hellas and set out from the port of Iolkos in the quest of the Golden
Fleece. After a long voyage full of hazards, the Argonauts finally reached the Pontos
Euxeinos (the Black Sea), sailed up the river Phasis (r. Rioni) and arrived in
Kutaia (city of Kutaisi in the modern-day Georgia), a fortress of Aeëtes.
Aeëtes assigned Jason to the hardest tasks in exchange to the Golden Fleece, which
Jason managed to successfully fulfill with the help of Medea, a charming magician
daughter of Aeëtes, as she fell in love with the Greek prince. Having received the
Golden Fleece as was promised, Jason returned to Greece together with Medea and
married her. Soon Jason cheated on Medea and left her to marry a daughter of
Creon, king of Corinth. Medea took a horrible vengeance on Jason, having poisoned
King Creon and his daughter first and hiding away her and Jason's children in
Hera's temple. She murdered them in another narrative. This is a very brief content
of one of the versions.
The story is a Mycenaean myth, generated before the time of the Trojan War,
around 1500 BC, but the first known written mention of it comes six centuries later,
in the age of Homer (VIII BC). The tale came out of the region of Thessaly, in
Greece, where early epic poetry developed. The Greeks have retold and reinterpreted
it many times since, changing it as their knowledge of the physical world increased
(Wood, 2011). No one knows for sure, where the earliest poets set the adventure, but
by 700 BC, a poet Eumelos set the tale of the Golden Fleece in the Kingdom of Aia,
a land that at the time was thought to be an eastern edge of the world. At this point,
the Jason story becomes fixed as an expedition to the Black Sea. The most famous
version, penned by Apollonius of Rhodes, head of the library at Alexandria, was
composed in the third century BC, after the invasion of Asia by Alexander the
Great.
Is it a mythor a reality? The myth of the Argonauts trip to the ancient Kingdom of
Colchisin the quest of the Golden Fleecehas always been one of the controversial
issues in the historical science. There are many contradictory legends and opinions
about this mythical journey. The trip has been told as a realstory by Homer in his
classic poem The Odyssey (VIII c. BC), as was in a play Medea by Euripides (V c.
BC). Greek poet Apollonius of Rhodes dedicated a poem Argonautica to this
voyage in the III century BC. In the poem, Apollonius gives a detailed description of
the kingdom of Colchis, the capital city – Aia (modern Kutaisi) and the Georgian
tribes Khalibi, Tibarenni and Mosinici (Race, 2008). It is believed that $
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reigned in Colchis at the time of Jason’s journey. Tales about Medea, a daughter of
Aeëtes, a sorceress, were known beyond her kingdom, as was the fame of her
country's gold, silver and iron. Quite credible, that this has been a leading motivation
of the Argonauts’ expedition. Mountain Rivers of Svaneti, a province of Colchis,
have been carrying down gold-bearing gravel, which has been washed in special pans
with punched holes and carefully strained through sheepskins under the pans. Some
believe that the fame of the fabulous wealth of the Kingdom of Colchis and the
treasures of its Kings have excited the enterprising avarice of the Argonauts.
The routes Argonauts travelled to Colchis and back to Greece is still a subject of
dispute among the scholars. As what we know about the journey comes from poets
for the most part, seems that the narrative has been largely embellished. There are
several versions of the route, albeit the way from Greece to Colchis seems to be the
same pretty much everywhere: Iolkos-Lemnos-Heraclea – Colchis. By contrast, the
return route has been subject to rather confusing interpretations, largely due to the
changing Greek understanding of geography as well as the complications caused by
efforts to map a myth born in the age of ignorance onto the real terrain, which rarely
matches the vision of the ancient bards. Below we offer two versions of the routes,
that are most shared by the scholars. The first one is the route described by
Apollonius of Rhodes in Argonautica (see. fig.1),according to which, Argonauts
have crossed the Black Sea from Colchis to the river Danube, entered the mainland
Europe and returned to Greece by a complicated route.
In the last century,the return route of the Argonauts has been staying a topical issue.
In 1984, Tim Severin,a British scientist, in a Modern Argo, a boat of his, followed
the same route the legendary Jason has travelled more than three thousand years ago.
Tim Severin and his crew of “New Argonauts" sailed from the city of Volosi in the
Aegean Sea, to the Black Sea and reached city of Poti in Georgia (the ancient
Phasis) on the east coast of the Black sea. Tim Severin has proved with this voyage,
that thanks to outstanding skills and sturdy vessels, the ancient Greek sailors could
have easily reached the Kingdom of Colchis (Severin, 1984).
Fig. 1. Route of the Argonauts according to Apollonius of Rhodes
(after J. Colavito, 2014).
Since the voyage has shown that the wooden boats of antique Greeks were easily
capable of sailing from the Adriatic to the Black sea, the question of feasibility of the
Argonauts trip from this standpoint has been effectively withdrawn. Further, we'll try
to assess the probability, objective and timeframe of this event on the basis of
geological argumentation.
We’d like to add in the end of this chapter, that since the legend of the Argonauts feat
has been so very much enchanting and intriguing for more than two thousand years,
there is hardly an area left in the history and art of Europe, where the theme of Jason
and the Argonauts, the Golden Fleece and the sorceress Medeahave not had at least
a modest impact.
Fig. 2. Route of the Argonauts according to Herodorus of Heracles
(after J. Colavito, 2014).
One of the good examples is a Terracotta Campana relief Athena supervises
the building of the ship "Argo" for the expedition of Jason and the Argonauts
exhibited in the British Museum, London (Fig. 3), as are numerous other pieces of art
scattered across the globe. We think that this dedication to the theme, so long and so
deep, as it has been from the European art to Argonauts, speaks in favor of the
journey being more a real event, rather than a myth. We should repeat here, that the
theme is still relevant in the modern historic science (Hunter, 1998; Slavitt, 1999;
Wood, 2011; Nelson at al., 2015) and still attracts a strong attention of the society.
In the chapters that follow, we'll try to show, that what has been verbally conveyed or
written about the gold bearing placers, probably the main target of Argonauts, is quite
real and not a figment of the imagination. It is real that the locals have been mining
gold with use of wooden wash pans and sheepskins.Besides, in the areas where the
gold bearing placers are, the excavations in the villages have unearthed numerous
stylized bronze artifacts depicting fragments of the Golden Fleece legend. This too
speaks in support of the hypothesis that the Argonauts may have existed in reality.
Fig. 3. Athena supervises building of the ‘Argo’. Roman bust (bronze), 1st-2nd century AD. Terra-cotta
relief of British Museum, London.
Very long time has gone since the Argonauts, more than 3500 years, to be more
specific. The history is very forgetful in the meantime. The catastrophe of Vesuvius is
probably the best example: on August 24, of the year 79 AD, Pompey and
Herculaneum, the two flourishing towns of the Roman Empire were buried under
the ashes and pyroclastic mass, just to be forgotten for almost 1700 years and
rediscovered only in the early 18-th century, by a mere accident, in the course of
some construction works. Finally, Henry Schliemann has proved Homer was
writing truth, with his discovery of Troy and Mycenae. Why can't we trust the great
Homer then with his tale of the Argonauts?
The Golden Fleece: a symbol of wealth or a gold imprinted sheepskin?
As we know, the main goal of Jason and the Argonauts, according to the myth, was
to grab the Golden Fleece from Colchis and get back to Thessaly with it. Even
though, the Golden Fleece is a central object of the myth, there is nothing there to
give a hint of what it really was, which has given birth to a host of different versions
and interpretations. The Golden Fleece theme is widely displayed in the ancient art
with the myth scenes shown in the drawings, on the excavated amphora (Fig. 4) and
the bas-reliefs on the tombs (Fig.5). From the antique times till present, scientists
have been keen to define the phenomenon of the Golden Fleece more or less
precisely - to no avail, so far.
.
Fig. 4. Jason returns with the Golden Fleece, shown on an Apulia red figure calyx craters,
ca 340-330 BC.
Fig. 5. Jason seizing the Golden Fleece. Fragments of a sarcophagus. Luni marble, Roman artwork,
second half of the 2
nd
century AD.
The versions that are trying to explain the phenomenon in the modern science, are
grouped in about 20 directions. Among these, in our opinion, the most relevant are
the following: 1. A gold extraction technology from gold bearing placers (Strabo,
book-XII; Pliny the Elder I c. AD; Appian of Alexandria I-II c. AD; Tran, 1992, and
others); 2. A symbol of power of the Kingdom (Braund, 1994; Lordkipanidze,
2001; Newman, 2001, and others);3. A symbol of wealth and high technologies of
Colchis (Urushadze, 1964, 1984); 4. A special breed of sheep (Ryder, 1991; Smith
G. J. Smith A.J, 1992, and others).
The oldest of the hypothesis is probably the one that thought of the Golden Fleece as
of a gold recovery technology from the gold bearing placers with the use of
sheepskin. It is thought that, in the process, heavy gold particles got stuck in the
dense wool, giving the fleece a golden hue. Through this, the Golden Fleece acquired
an artistic image of a gold colored sheepskin and has further been diversely
interpreted by different artists.That is exactly the stylized artistic image, the Golden
Fleece has had in the antiquity and still retains. We think that this is a correct
interpretation of the legendary phenomenon. The theorists used to see the Golden
Fleece as a symbol of wealth of Colchis, which has been famed since antiquity for
its treasures. It is believed that Aeëtes reigned in Colchis at the time of Jason’s
journey.
The third version is close to the first one in its content and was born during the
European Renaissance, as soon as the knight’s era came to the end. The two versions
can be grouped together. The fourth version hypothesizes that the Golden Fleece
could have been a particular species of the sheep, with a special kind of wool. The
idea, that the fine wool might well have been given the epithet of golden, because of
its value, is not unreasonable at all, given that sheepskins were used to collect gold
particles from streams. That the fleece was yellow is unlikely since such discoloration
is a wool fault, but it is just possible that “golden” might refer to genetically “tan”
fiber (Rider, 1991). We think that this version is unfounded and cannot be seriously
considered, therefore. Yet, it undoubtedly is a completely new vision of the Golden
Fleece concept.
The original meaning of the Golden Fleece, in the long course of the European
history, became gradually hidden in a shroud of romance and mystery.The concept
acquired a meaning so sacred, that discrete orders of Golden Fleece started to spring
up in the medieval Europe, as symbols of power and wealth of kingdoms. The first
order of Golden Fleece was founded in
Bruges by Philip III the Good, Duke of
Burgundy in 1430, to celebrate his marriage to the Portuguese princess Infanta
Isabella of Portugal, daughter of King John I of Portugal. Later it became one of
the most prestigious orders in Europe.
Later, the orders of Golden Fleece were founded by Spanish Habsburg royal house
(1700) andAustrian Habsburgs(1740).The choice of the Golden Fleece of
Georgian Kingdom of Colchis as the symbol of a Christian order caused some
controversy. Despite all this, the order of the Golden Fleece is still one of the oldest
and most honorable orders of Europe and is still worn by Spanish and Austrian royal
entities. Importantly, all these decorations bear the appearance of a golden ram skin.
Fig. 6. Various versions of the Golden Fleece order of Austrian Habsburgs royal house.
The rest of the world still respects the Golden Fleece and the decoration is often used
as a national award, as well as an award for winners of various cultural events.
Georgia, for example, has established a Golden Fleece award in 1998 and now it is
awarded for special merits before the nation. There is a Golden Fleece award in
Ireland, which is given to the most gifted people of arts.
Despite a flood of new information in the modern time, the Golden Fleece concept is
still disputable. From what we could see in the course of our research, we think that
the Golden Fleece bears in the myth a symbolic meaning of technology for mining
gold from the gold placers along the river banks. In antiquity it was a myth; during
the early Middle Ages - in the time of knights, it gradually took over symbolic load of
power and chivalry, while during the epoch of Renaissance it became a symbol of
wealth.
The Ancient Kingdoms of Colchis and Iberia
,Q(DUO\%URQ]HDJHon the territory of the&DXFDVXVWZR.DUWYHOLDQN
ingdoms
the
Colchis and the IberiaZHUHIRUPHG.
The Colchis
The Colchis has been a powerful ancient kingdom on the eastern coast of the Bleak
Sea, formed at the beginning of second millennium BC, a central part of which is the
modern West Georgia. Colchis is described by the modern science as “the earliest
state formation of Georgians”, that together with the Kingdom of Iberia, would later
lead to the formation of the Georgian nation (Allen, 1932). Internationally, Colchis
is perhaps best known for its role in the Greek mythology, most notably as the
destination of Argonauts voyage, as well as the home of Medea and Golden Fleece.
Its geography is mostly assigned to what is now the western part of Georgia and
encompasses the present-day Georgian provinces of Abkhazia, Svaneti, Samegrelo,
Imereti, Guria, Racha; Sochi and Tuapse districts of the modern-day Russia and
Trabzon and Artvin provinces of the present-day Turkey (Fig. 7) (Braund, 1994).
The eastern Black Sea region in antiquity was home to the well-developed Bronze
Age culture known as the Colchian culture. In at least some parts of Colchis, the
process of urbanization seems to have been rather advanced by the end of the second
millennium BC, centuries before any Greek settlement of the Black Sea coastline
(Fig.7). The Colchian Late Bronze Age (XV-VIII century BC) saw the development
of significant skill in the smelting and casting of metals that began long before this
skill was mastered in Europe (Braund, 1994).
Colchis was inhabited by a number of related but distinct tribes whose settlements
lay along the shore of the Black Sea. The Kartvelian tribes differed so completely in
language and appearance from the surrounding Indo-European nations that the
ancients provided various “wild” theories to account for the phenomenon (Urushadze,
1984). For example, Herodotus states that the Colchians, together with the
Egyptians and the Ethiopians, were the first to practice circumcision, a custom
which he claims Colchians inherited from remnants of the army of Pharaoh
Sesostris III (1878-1841 BC). Herodotus thus erroneously regarded the Colchians
as Egyptians (Herodotus, The History).
Fig. 7. Political map of the Eastern Black Sea region in VI-II cc. BC Adapted
after D. Braund (1994).
According the Greek sources, the ancient Colchis was a powerful kingdom. At the
turn of the 15th and 16th centuries BC, the capital city of Colchis was Aya (the
modern-day city of Kutaisi), where mighty Aeëtes reigned. Colchis has sort of
"disappeared" further down the history, reappearing later, in the 8th century BC,
when the kingdom regains strength after victorious wars with Sarduri II, king of
Urartu in 750-742cc BC. The following centuries saw the decline of ancient Colchis
due to incessant invasions of Scythians and Cimmerians and by the middle of 6th
century BC, Colchis falls under the dominance of the Persian Empire what
effectively marks the end of its early history.
From the end of 6th century BC, the Black Sea coast comes into spotlight of
Greeks.Greeks have set up commercial ports of Rizos, Gonio-Apsaros, Phasis ,
Dioscuria (Sebastopolis) and Pitiunt along the Colchian coast of the Black sea. The
ports developed into prospering Greek cities later. This was a birth of a new period in
the history of Colchis, the period of Greek colonization. After a severe defeat
sustained by Darius the III to Alexander the Great in the battle of Gaugamela in
331 BC, the Persian Empire lost the last of its influence over the Kingdoms of
Colchis and Iberia, having given them a chance to develop independently.
The first century BC brings expansion of the Roman empire to the Caucasus and to
the entire Eastern Mediterranean. It is when the ancient kingdoms of Colchis and
Iberia are conquered by Roman troops led by the famed General Pompey, later
falling apart into several smaller kingdoms.
The best known among the cities of the ancient Colchis was Aya (c. Kutaisi in
modern Georgia), located in the river Phasis (r. Rioni in modern Georgia) Gorge,
where the Greater Caucasus meets the Colchis valley, expanding further down to the
Black Sea coast. According to the Greek mythology and history, Kutaisi is a Minoan
Epochcity (17th-15th centuries BC) and is reckoned among the oldest cities in the
world, therefore.Since the antique times and later too, in the feudal age, Kutaisi have
been retaining the status of the main city of the West Georgia (has been a Capital of
Lazeti, Egrisi and Aphkazia); has been a Capital of the Single Georgia for 125
years from 978 AD. As of the present, Kutaisi is still the largest city of the West
Georgia with a population of 250 000. Kutaisi is now home to the Parliament of
Georgia and other important institutions.
The first written accounts about Kutaisi are found in the Greek sources of the
Hellenistic period, the most important being the Argonautica by Apollonius of
Rhodes (3rd century BC), where Kutaisi is referred to as Kutaya, the Capital of
Colchis. The poem says that it was where the mightyAeetes reigned and the Golden
Fleece was guarded by a dragon that never slept. According to the excavations, one
of the important towns of Colchis of the Greek colonization period was Vani, 40
kms away from Kutaisi, a small town at present, with the population of 5000.
Archaeological excavations began there in the late 50-ies of the past century, under
the guidance of Georgian archaeologists Nodar Khoshtaria and Otar Lortkipanidze.
The excavations have revealed a continuous occupation sequence extending from the
8th to the 1st centuries BC. Especially notable are the rich and unusual graves of the
Classical period (6
th
-4
th
centuries) and the monumental stone architecture of the
Hellenistic period (3
rd
to 1
st
centuries BC). It is assumed that in the 3rd to 1st
centuries BC Vani was a templar city. According to the archaeological data, the city
was destroyed in the middle of the 1
st
century BC (Lordkipanidze, 2001).
There is an interesting archeological museum in Vani, with unique artifacts of the
Greek colonization period exhibited. The collection encompasses a period between
VIII and I centuries BC. One of the exhibitions includes a city of temples that is
most representative of the Vani culture. Architecture, gold jewelry, bronze figurines
and fragments thereof are put on the permanent exhibition.
Because of the large number of unique gold artifacts unearthed in Vani (Fig. 8 and
Fig. 9), many scholars and journalists are apt to think that Vani is somehow linked to
Argonauts journey and some regard it as a Golden Fleece city. However, factual data
suggests that the Argonauts represented the Minoan civilization and should have
therefore travelled to Colchis much earlier (by about 1000 years), than Vani has
reached the apex of its development during the Hellenistic period.
Fig. 8. Golden bracelets (H - 6.5 cm; W-6.5 cm) 4
th
century BC from Vani,
(Western Georgia) (The Georgian National Museum's collection).
Fig. 9. Clip Headdress decoration (H - 6.5 cm; H – 6.5 cm), 4
th
century BC from Vani,
(Western Georgia) (The Georgian National Museum's collection).
The Iberia
To the east of the ancient Kingdom of Colchis, on the territory of East Caucasus,
in the third millennium BC, another unity of Kartvelian tribes, Kartli has formed,
referred to in the Greek and Roman sources as Caucasian Iberia (Fig. 10). Some
scholars (Lortkipanidze 1968) think that, Romans used the term Iberia to denote
marginal provinces of the empire, what gives a logical explanation to the use of one
name for two different places – Caucasian/Eastern and Pyrenees/ Western Iberias.
The fact that, the territory of the Eastern Iberia has been inhabited since the times
remote, is clear from numerous archeological findings. In the central part, what is
now the East Georgia, more specifically in a small town of Dmanisi, a very old
campsite of humans has been discovered.The hominid site of Dmanisi is the earliest
of its kind outside of Africa, dated 1.81 Ma (Gabunia et al., 2000). A series of skulls
from Dmanisi (Fig. 11), discovered in the early 2010-ies, led to the hypothesis that
many separate species in the Homo genus were in fact a single age line.
Fig. 10. Map of Iberia and Colchis By German scholar Christoph Cellarius (1638-1707).
Fig. 11. Dmanisi skull 5 (The Georgian National Museum's collection).
The Grakliani Hill, an archaeological excavation site in Eastern Georgia, located
between Tbilisi and Gori, shows evidence of human presence dating back possibly
300,000 years. The site includes a temple of a fertility goddess from the seventh
century BC, a pit-type burial site from the Early Bronze Age, and remains of a
building from around 450-350 BC. The site had been occupied between the
Chalcolithic and Late Hellenistic periods. In 2015, a mysterious script (Fig. 12) was
discovered on the fertility goddess temple altar, predating those previously known in
the area by at least one thousand years (Burton, 2015).
Fig. 12. Mysterious script of the Grakliani Hill.
Fig. 13. Uplistsikhe - an ancient cave town in Eastern Georgia. A Christian church,
built later, in 6
th
century AD can be seen in the right upper corner.
In the opinion of Vakhtang Licheli, a Georgian archaeologist: „Mysterious script
found on the Grakliani Hill may turn out to be the oldest example of native writing
found in the Caucasus – entire thousand years older than any indigenous writing
previously found in the region“.
Among the oldest settlements of Iberia, the best preserved so far is Uplistsikhe, a
town hewn in the rock, 10 km to the East of c. Gori, on the left bank of the River
Mtkvari (Fig. 13). The city was cut out in the limestone rock in the Early Bronze
Age. Uplistsikhe was an important strategic and commercial city of the region,
prospering until the 6
th
century AD, when Iberia was conquered by Sassanid Persia.
In the 4th century BC, the Capital of Iberia became Mtskheta, where numerous
archaeological monuments are still preserved, the ruins of the 4th century Armazi
citadel among these. The kingdom has been around as an independent state until 6th
century AD, when it became a part of the Sassanid Persian Empire as a vassal country.
Later, in the 10
th
century AD, the kingdoms of Iberia and Colchis have united, forming
a Single Kingdom of Georgia, with Tbilisi becoming the capital. The Single Georgian
kingdom has reached the apex of its development in 11
th
and 12
th
centuries,
representing by that time the most powerful state in the region. However, the invasion
and occupation by Mongols at the beginning of 13
th
century has stalled its development,
weakened and later dismembered the kingdom into small principalities.
By the end of the third and beginning of the second millennium BC, on the territory
of Iberia a so called Trialeti culturebegan to develop, which is seen as a successor
of the Kura–Araxes culture (Kouftin, 1941). The Trialeti culture has produced
numerous gold artifacts of the highest artistic value. The Golden lion of Tsnori (Fig.
14) and Golden chalice of Trialeti (Fig.15) are among the examples thereof. In
general, the abundance and the quality of gold artifacts are strong evidence that at
those times, in Iberia and the region as a whole, gold mining and processing
technology has been developed to the highest standard.
Fig. 14. Golden Lion figurine (L- 4.1 cm; H – 2.1 cm; W – 2.5 cm). 2300-2000 BC.
Tsnori, Alazani Valley, East Georgia/Iberia (The Georgian National Museum's collection).
In general, the ancient kingdoms of Colchis and Iberia have always been reckoned
among the world’s most important places of mining and processing of precious metals.
Many archeologists and other scholars consider the territory inhabited by the Mossinik,
Halyb and Tubal protoGeorgian tribes, a birthplace of metallurgy (Richardson, 1934;
Forbes, 1950; Wainwinght, 1936). In particular, H. Richardson (1934) believes that iron
mining and steel manufacturing technology was developed in XIV century BC by a
proto-Georgian tribe of Khaldes that inhabited the River Halyse Canyon (vicinity of
modern Trabzon, Turkey). Interestingly, R. Dussaud, a French scholar (1930) links the
Greek term “chalkos”, a designation for copper, with the Colchian tribe of Khaldes. He
thinks that the root of the word “khal” comes from the word “khaldi”, whereas the suffix
“kos” denotes the origin in Greek. Besides, excavations of the Early Bronze Age burial
mounds have shown that nonferrous as well as ferrous metallurgy was developed to a
highest standard in the region and that the noble metal mining has also taken place there,
at that time of history (Courcier at al., 2008).
Fig. 15. Coblet. Gold, carnelian, lapis lazuri, amber, jet. (H-7.5 cm; max. dm-7.5; weight – 230 gr.) Trialeti,
Southeast Georgia/Iberia. 18
th
–17
th
century BC.
(The Georgian National Museum's collection).
Gold artifacts that could have been attributed to the culture of ancient Colchis either
have not survived or have to be found yet. The earliest gold wares known to us are
those from the century V BC, found mainly in the excavations of Vani (see Fig. 8
and 9). However, the highest standard of art, these artifacts exhibit, suggests that
processing of this precious metal in Colchis began long before the V century BC.The
fact that no historic structure or a significant artifact of the ancient kingdom of
Colchis have been discovered so far, can be blamed on the humid climate of the
Colchis valley, intensive precipitation and submersion. However, all these yet can be
found in the future.
Thus, the analysis of this chapter leaves no doubt that on the territory of the modern-
day Georgia man has lived since the prehistoric times. Iberia and Colchis were
ancient kingdoms that have been around since the Old Bronze Age until 10
th
century
AD, when they merged to form the Single Kingdom of Georgia. Both ancient
kingdoms have been known for a well-developed gold processing technology, which
gives reason to believe that the gold mining technology was developed just as well.
Further, the analysis allows concluding that the ancient kingdom of Colchis really
existed during the Old Bronze Age - the time of Argonauts and was nothing like a
mythical kingdom.
Historic and Ethnographic descriptionof Svaneti Region
Svaneti (Suania in ancient sources) is a historic province of the ancient Georgian
Kingdom of Colchis, near the Black Sea (Fig. 16) and is a home to Svans, a
geographic subgroup of the Georgians. In ancient sources Svans are generally
identified with the Soanes mentioned by the Greek geographer Strabo. Svaneti
lies on the southern slopes of the central part of the Greater Caucasus and is the
highest permanently inhabited area of the Caucasus. The province encompasses the
basins of the rivers Enguri, Kodori and Tskhenistskali (6770 km
2
), with all three
rivers running into the Black Sea.
The inhabited areas of Svaneti are located along the river gorges, at 1000-2300
meters above sea level, with the village Ushguli (2300 m a.s.l.) (Fig. 17) being one
of the highest continuously inhabited settlements in Europe. The villages are
overlooked by magnificent 3500-5200 meters high summits of the Greater
Caucasus, covered with perpetual snow and glaciers. Out of 10 tallest summits of the
Caucasus, 4 are on the territory of Svaneti. These are: Shkhara (5201 m asl –Fig.
18), Tetnuldi (4960m a.s.l.), Ushba (4710 m a.s.l. – Fig.19) and Aylama (4525 m
a.s.l.). Mount Ushba, the iconic peak of Svaneti, towers over the Inguri River
Gorge and can be seen from many locations of the region.
Because no enemy including the Mongols has ever conquered Svaneti, Svans have
retained their cultural and ethnic identity. Svans speak their distinct language and use
it alongside Georgian. About 25000 people lives in Svaneti permanently. Mestia is
the regional administrative centre (Fig. 20). The river Enguri gorge, called the
Upper Svaneti due to its geographic location, is the historical center of the province,
where the cultural heritage of Svaneti is best preserved. The Upper Svaneti (Mestia
district) is known for its architectural monuments and picturesque landscapes. The
famous towers of Svaneti, built in 9
th
-12
th
centuries, for the most part (see Fig. 17 &
Fig. 18), add to the attractiveness of the region’s villages. Architectural monuments
of Upper Svaneti Nave been included in the UNESCO’s World Heritage list.
Fig. 16. ASTER Satellite imagesof modern-day Colchis Lowland and Svaneti Region.
Fig.17. Part of Village Ushguli and upper reaches of the Enguri river.
Fig. 18. The upper reaches of the river Enguri and the granitoid massif Shkhara.
The highest point is Eastern/main Shkhara, 5201 meteres tall. The massiff is a 320 Ma.
(the age is determined with use of LA-ICP-MS- U-Pb single zircons dating method).
Fig. 19. Ushba, the beauty of Svaneti, 4710 metres tall. It is a 177 million years old quartz diorite intrusive of
the Middle Jurassic ( the age is determined with use of LA-ICP-MS- U-Pb zircons dating method).
Fig. 20. Town of Mestia – the administratve center of Upper Svaneti with Greater Caucasus
Main Ridge on the background.
The written accounts about Svaneti and the Svan people exist since the antique times
and mostly narrate about the bravery of Svans and the abundance of gold in the land.
Strabo, a renowned Greek historian (44 BC- 23 AD) has been writing in his 12
th
book, that Svans, the people famous for their bravery, lived high up in the mountains
of Caucasus, just over Dioscuria (the modern Sukhumi), had a chief, a council of
300 men and were capable of mobilizing a 200 000 strong army. Of a special interest
are his accounts of the gold mining in the rivers of Svaneti. Here’s what he writes:
“In mountain rivers of this country there is a lot of gold, mined by these barbarians
using the perforated vessels and sheepskin” (Strabo, book-XII).
Pliny the Elder, a Roman naturalist (23-79 AD) referring to Svans as to heroic
people has been writing in his book “The Natural Hisstory”: „ in Colchis who on
finding a tract of virgin earth, in the country of theSuani, extracted from it a large
amount of gold and silver” (Pliny, vol. 6). This information draws a special attention
since Svaneti is mentioned there as a part of the kingdom of Colchis - an important
point when discussing the mission of Argonauts.
In assessing the mission and the Golden Fleece in general, very interesting are the
accounts and reasoning of Appian of Alexandria, a Roman historian (95-165 AD)
who writes in his book “The history of Mythridates wars”: “many rivers carry
invisible “gold sand” from the Caucasian mountains and residents put thick
sheepskins into the springs and then collect precipitated gold”.In his opinion, the
main objective of the Argonauts mission was to obtain the sheepskin technique of
gold mining and that the “Golden Fleece” of $
$HsWHV
represented a sheepskin with
imprinted gold.
We should note here that, geologically,this method is justified, with the secret
possibly being that, gold as a heavy metal sinks to the bottom of the sediment. Due
to this quality, a sheepskin accumulating the sediment is gradually covered with gold
specs that stick to the wool. The ancient Colchians should have known about this
character of gold and used it quite successfully.
A close acquaintance with the lifestyle of the Svan shows that there is a “close and
distinct” relation between this people and the nature, the “sheepskin gold mining”
technology being an example thereof. Before moving on to the technology, we refer
to the brief description of Svaneti and Svans by the UNESCO World Heritage
Centre: “Preserved by its long-lasting geographical isolation, the mountain landscape
of the Upper Svaneti region is an exceptional example of mountain scenery with
medieval villages and the abundance of tower houses. The origins of Svaneti tower
houses go back to prehistory. Its features reflect the traditional economic mode and
social organization of Svan communities. These towers usually have three to five
floors, and the thickness of the walls decreases, giving the towers a slender, tapering
profile. The upper floor was used by the human occupants during summer, and also
served as a store for fodder and tools. The region of Upper Svaneti is an
outstanding example of an exceptional mountain landscape composed of highly
preserved villages with unique defensive tower houses, examples of ecclesiastical
architecture and arts of medieval origin“.
Of interest are scientific theories about the origin of the Svan. A part of the scholars
(M.Tsereteli, A.Svanidze) think that they might have been a relict tribe of the
Sumerians that found refuge in the inaccessible Caucasus after the downfall of their
kingdom 5000-4500 years ago. Here, strictly confined, they have preserved their
identity way better than the people of the lowlands. As an argument, they bring the
similarity of place names and language, together with some other factors - the shape
and style of the Svan towers among these. Supporters of the idea insist that the towers
clearly reflect the influence of Sumerian ziggurats. However, the gold mining
technique used by Svans is closer to that of the Egyptians, as thought by Herodotus.
In general, Svans are romantic warriors that are in love with art, which is well
expressed in their wonderful folklore and the diverse medieval wall-painting.
Svaneti is the only part of Georgia where churches have been painted both from
inside and outside. A church of village Lashtkhveri (Lenjeri commune) with all four
outer walls covered with paintings, can serve as an example. The frescoes of this
church depict warriors among other, which is unique for Georgian wall-painting (Fig.
21).
Legends and myths occupy an important place in the existence of the Svan - yet
another expression of their romantic nature. In many cases, these legends and myths
reflect the reality, as this people have been living here for more than 4000 years,
without any assimilation from outside and their historic memory is unbroken and
solid, therefore. Mythology of Svans merits attention and interest for its antiquity and
content that is close to the truth and shows a rather clear proximity to the ancient
Greek world: Prometheus – Amirani, Gea – Gim, etc.
Fig. 21. Fragments of frescoes of the Holy Warriors, south wall of Lashtkhveri church facade,
14
th
century.
The theme of the Argonauts and the Golden Fleece is widely reflected in the Svan
mythology. The local elders still firmly believe that Argonauts have indeed travelled
to their country. Besides, during the excavations around the villages of Svaneti,
archeologists have found numerous bronze figurines, that represent a stylized bird
with a ram's head (Fig. 22 and Fig. 23). It is very much likely that such statuettes
were being created under the influence of the Golden Fleece legend and should not
be linked to a totemic faith.
Fig. 22. A bronze ram figurine. Upper Svaneti.
(From Sh.Chartolani Collection).
Thus, obviously, the Svans are a people with an ancient history, mentioned in the
written sources of antiquity, who have firmly kept their traditions, lifestyle and
language. Besides, they have a highly organized labor and optimal forms of
interrelation with the nature. Most likely, the strong traditions, the organized labor,
the morale, together with inaccessibility of the area have provided for the
autochthony of Svans from the Bronze Age till present. That is why; the mythology
of Svans is ancient, pristine and often bears the imprint of true events of the antique
history.
Fig. 23. A „Ram Bird” bronze figurine (7X10 cm). Villige Khalde, Upper Svaneti
(From Sh.Chartolani Collection).
In the next chapters we’ll discuss, how close to the reality is the most famous legend
of antiquity from a geological point of view. Besides, we’ll check the written
accounts of antique scholars, - Strabo, the great geographer among these, - about the
gold that was being recovered from the Mountain Rivers of Svaneti and see if this
information is a mere echo of the Argonauts legend.
A general geology of the Caucasus
The Caucasus represents a Phanerozoic collisional orogen formed along the Euro-
Asian north continental margin, in a NW-SE direction, from the Black to Caspian
seas. Currently, it is an expression of continental collision between the Arabian and
Eurasian lithospheric plates (Fig. 24).
Fig. 24. Tectonic zoning of the Eastern Mediterranean on the basis of terrane analysis (after Gamkrelidze,
1997). Terranes: GC- Greater Caucasian, BT- Black Sea-Central Transcaucasian , BS-Beiburt-Sevanian,
IA-Iran-Afganian, AT –Anatolian.
Paleomagnetic and geological data indicate that within the oceanic area of Tethys,
which separated Afro-Arabian and Eurasian continental plates, there were relatively
small continental or subcontinental plates (terrains) with different geodynamic and
geological histories (Gamkrelidze 1997; Okrostsvaridze, Tormay, 2013). During the
Neoproterozoic, Paleozoic and Early Mesozoic, these terrains underwent horizontal
displacement within the oceanic area of Proto-, Paleo- and Meso-Tethys, followed by
accretion and, ultimately, merging with the Eurasian continent. The Arabian and
Eurasian lithospheric plates are separated by the Greater Caucasian, Black Sea-
Central Transcaucasian, Baibut-Sevanian and Iranian-Afghan terrains which in
the geological past represented island arcs or micro-continents (Gamkrelidze 1997).
Traditionally three major orogenic units are distinguished in the Caucasian
consruction: 1) the Greater and 2) the Lesser Caucasian mobile belts and 3) the
inner Caucasian microplate. The Greater Caucasus unit is the northernmost
expression of the Caucasus orogeny and is linked to the southern margin of the
Eurasian continent. It is currently a folded-nappe polycyclic formation extending
more than1200 km between the Black and Caspian Seas; its width reaches 170 km in
the central part. Two major stages are distinguished in its construction: Pre-
Mesozoic crystalline basement (CB) and Meso-Cenozoic volcanic-sedimentary
cover. Crystalline basement complex (200kmx40km) is mainly constructed of
Precambrian and Paleozoic crystalline chist, amphibolites, gneisses, migmatite sand
granitoids. Four regional structural- tectonic zones are traditionally recognized:
Southern Slope, Main Range, Front Range and Bechasyn.
Evolution of plutonic magmatism is clearly observed in the Variscan tectonic-thermal
events of the Greater Caucasus. Mantle origin gabbro-plagiogranite series is formed
(355±15Ma) at initial state of the process at the southern margin orogen in subduction
zone. During 320±8 Ma mantle-crust generated gabbro-adamellite series formed just
above the subduction zone. Much later (310±7 Ma) crustal anatectic plagiogranite-
granite series started formation of collision structure. The Greater Caucasian Variscan
plutonic magmatism is ended by granodiorite-alaskite series (300±5 Ma), which
formed at the expense of the upper Caledonian granite (Okrostsvaridze, Tormay,
2011).
Geological description of Svaneti Region
Svaneti region is located in the southern part of the most uplifted central segment of
the Caucasus orogen. It includes the outcropping Paleozoic crystalline basement of
the Main Ridge and of the Southern Slope zone, overlain by Early and Middle
Jurassic volcanogenic-sedimentary formations and Middle-Upper Cretaceous
limestone. The Main Ridge zone in the Svaneti region is represented by older Early-
Middle- Paleozoic amphibolites, crystalline schists, migmatites intruded by Upper
Paleozoic quartz diorites, granodiorites and granites. The Southern Slope zone in the
Svaneti area is represented by the Upper Paleozoic-Triassic volcanogenic-
sedimentary and sedimentary rocks so-called Dizi series, which forms two lens-
shaped “windows” within the Jurassic sedimentary cover.
Magmatism of the Svaneti region
In this chapter, we are going to describe magmatism of the Caucasus Svaneti segment
in a relatively more detail, because it is genetically linked to the bedrock gold
mineralization processes. We have determined magmatic activity stages with the use
of single zircon U-Pb dating method on the LA-ICP-MS equipment of the
department of Earth and Environmental Science of the National Chung-Cheng
University, Taiwan, having distinguished several stages of magmatic activity as a
result. We should note here that, the magmatic processes of Svaneti region have
been dated by many researchers before (Gamkrelidze, Shengelia, 2005;
Okrostsvaridze, 2007; Okrostsvaridze, Tormay, 2011; Dudauri, Togonidze, 2016),
albeit, the recent work has led to significant new findings.
According to the geological data, as well as to the zircons dating, the oldest igneous
activity in the Svaneti segment was anatectic magmatism of the Elbrus subzone of
the main range, which was linked to the Early Caledonian orogeny - 500-450 million
years (Ma). From these bedrocks, we have dated the zircons of biotite migmatite,
which corresponds to an average age of 475 Ma.
Further magmatic activity in the Caucasus Svaneti segment is linked to the Late
Caledonian orogeny (450-400 Ma). During this period, plagiogneisses have formed
here, dated with zircons at an average of 554 Ma.
Further magmatic activity in the Svanetisegment is related to the Variscan orogeny
(280-380 Ma), which on its part was linked to the closing processes of the Paleo-
Tethys. The period in the region was marked by intensive magmatic activity with
different genetic types of plutonic bodies formed in the sub-zones of the both, the
mountain pass and the Mount Elbrus. During this latter, a crustal, two mica granitoid
magma formed (305-320 Ma), genetically not related to any ore mineralization
process. In contrast to this magmatism, ore mineralizations are associated with the
quartz-diorite plutones of the mantle-crust generation that have formed in the
mountain pass sub-zone. The largest is Sakeni intrusive (15km X 5km) with large ore
fields formed in the south and north contacts. We have dated zircons from this
intrusive, with the average determined at 318 Ma (Fig. 25).
The next large magmatic activity in the region occured in the Middle Jurassic period
and is linked with the Kimmerian orogeny caused by the closure of Mesothetis (150-
200 Ma). During this period, in crystalline basement are formed Quartz-Diorite and
Granodiorite intrusive bodies of various scale. We have dated zircons from these
bodies with and their isotopic ages scattered across the 177 -164 Ma interval. Ushba-
Etseri Intrusive complex was dated as the oldest (177 Ma) (see Fig. 18). With this
magmatic activity is often genetically connected ore mineralization process, of the
gold - including.
Apart from the largescale magmatic activity described above, the Alpine magmatic
processes have intensively manifested during the Neotethis closure in the Caucasus
(< 65 Ma). In the course of this period, the Meso Cenozoic cover of Svaneti was
intensively innervated with multitude of quartz veins of various strengths, the gold-
bearing - among these.
Fig. 25. Images of Sakeni quartz-diorite intrusive zircons (in the brackets-age in Ma).
Thus, as we can see from this brief review, intensive magmatic processes have been
going on during the full length of evolution of the Svaneti segment of the Caucasus.
We have distinguished 5 phases of the active magmatism, in particular:
1) The Early Caledonian, in the course of which intensive migmatization of the
substrate occurred; 2) The Late Caledonian, during which the plagiogneisses formed;
3) The Variscan, when the two mica microcline granites and quartz-diorite powerful
intrusions formed; 4) The Cimmerian orogeny, during which the diabase Dike
systems and quartz-diorite and granodiorite intrusions formed; 5) The Alpine
Magmatic Activity, during which formed the multiple quartz veins dissecting the
Meso-Cenozoic sedimentary cover.
Long-term geological study of the region has shown that, from the magmatic
activities, only the phases 3, 4 and in part 5 are connected with the gold
mineralization. These very activities have provided for the formation of main gold
deposits of Svaneti, whereas, formation of the placer deposits – the Gold Sands,
happened through transportation of the broken material by rivers.
A General Description of Gold Deposits
There are very few deposits of gold on the Earth, since the gold average content in
the Earth’s crust is very small, more specifically - about 0.0031 g/t. Figuratively,
formation of the gold deposits in the Earth’s crust happens in very rare, lucky
occasions. Formation of the most part of the gold deposits takes place in the depth of
the Earth’s crust. These are primary, endogenous deposits. The smaller part of the
deposits is being formed on the surface, as a result of disintegration of the basic, hard
rock deposits.
These are secondary, exogenous deposits. There is a significant difference in gold
concentrations between the placers and the basic deposits. More specifically, in the
hard rock deposits gold is a compound within various minerals. In very rare
occasions it may crystallize in a bedrock crack, whereas in the placers, the gold
grains and rarely nuggets are contained mainly in a loose material. Accordingly, in
the placers gold can be extracted by way of mechanical separation, whilst from the
primary deposits it is extracted with chemical process.
In the course of the long geological time due to tectonic movements, rock deposits
come to the surface, break up and are washed away.Secondary, exogenous gold
deposits are formed in this process, most of which is placers. Their formation is
conditioned by the above disintegration and subsequent displacement of the primary
Au-containing ores. The process is long and complex, during which gold grains are
released from the minerals and taken away with streams. However, due to the high
density of gold (about 19 g/cm
3
) the grains more than 0.5 mm in size are not carried
a long distance and are deposited in a few hundred meters or kilometers from the
main ore while the smaller specks are transported farther. That is why the alluvial
deposits are the most profitable, since the gold particles can be extracted here by way
of mere flushing out. Historically, it was precisely the alluvial/placer gold that
attracted attention and it is only natural that men began extracting gold first from the
deposits of this category.
History and methods of gold mining
There are several methods of gold extraction in the mining industry, more
specifically: amalgamation, cyanide, biological and manual methods.
Amalgamation. Amalgam is a compound of mercury and metals. Mercury has a
property to encase the finest particles of gold and other metals (except iron) at the
room temperature and encapsulate them. It does not chemically interact with gold and
the metals, however. This is how silver, gold, zinc, lead and other metals are being
amalgamated. After the process is completed, the amalgam is extracted and the
obtained compound heated; the highly volatile mercury (melting point 38.8
o
C)
evaporates releasing the pure metal. The process was first used in Mexico in 1557 for
extracting silver from placers. It became widespread in USA in 19
th
century (Voinick,
1992) and at present is successfully employed for extracting gold across the Globe.
Sodium cyanide (NaCN) process. It is worth noting that, solubility of gold in sodium
cyanide was discovered in 1843 by a Georgian chemist, Petre Bagrationi, who
worked in Petersburg, Russian Empire, at that time. Extraction of gold with sodium
cyanide process was first carried out by the gold industry of the USA, at the end of
19
th
century. At present, the method is widely spread across the board due to its low
price. The process is simple: finely powdered enriched auriferous ore is sprinkled
with sodium cyanide, which dissolves gold and deposits it on the bottom. The bottom
is covered with a special non-conducting surface where this mass is being
accumulated. Then the upper, leached mass is removed and gold is extracted from the
enriched mass of the sediment.
Biological process. The method was developed in 1958, in USA. It is based on the
ability of some microorganisms (bacteria, fungi) to generate cyanide, providing
thereby the means for leaching gold. The process is as follows: first the naturally
occurring microorganisms, or those genetically engineered are infused into the metal
containing ore; next the shaft is filled with water, with the metals afloat; next the
shaft is drained. The method can be used not just for gold but for some other metals
too, such as copper, zinc, etc. A disadvantage is the length of the process - an average
of 6 months.
Manual process. It is the oldest technique around and is based on removal of
mechanical waste from the gold-bearing gravel of the placers. The method is
facilitated by the high density and stable chemical properties of gold. It is to say that,
gold is 79 times heavier than water and about 7 times heavier than gold-bearing
gravel. At the same time, this element interacts with no naturally occurring matter
under the temperatures normal for the Earth’s surface. Since gold is present in the
placers as a mechanical admixture, it can be manually washed out with water
stream.This is the oldest and the simplest way of gold extraction; it has been used
since the ancient times and is still being successfully used. There are many diverse
options. It should be noted that until the 20
th
century, gold has been mined mostly in
the gold placers across the globe and the notorious Gold Rush of the 19
th
century in
the United States was about gold mining from the placers exactly (Voinick, 1992).
The oldest gold artifacts discovered in Varna necropolis, Bulgaria, are dated
between 4700-4200 BC. Therefore, gold has been known to and has been mined by
men 6700-6200 years ago. Unfortunately, there are no data on when and where gold
has been mined first, although, it is beyond any doubt that it was first in placers, since
it is lot easier than mining from the bedrock deposits.
The first written accounts of gold being mined with manual methods are given in The
History of Nature
(77 AD)by Pliny the Elder. In this book he describes in detail the
process of extracting gold by the Romans from Las Medulas (Spain) placers. The
process was as simple as flushing gold out from the sands with a strong stream of
water. Due to the significant historic value, the Las Medulas deposits have been
entered the list of UNESCO world heritage sites.
Mining of gold from rivers with sheepskins has been described as a discrete method
by Ruttier, a French scholar of 19th century, who studied technologies of gold mining
from placers and has set apart the sheepskin method as a distinct one, under the name
of Colchian method. Worth noting that, locals still wash gold with this method in the
river Enguri gorge and the tributaries. A young sheepskin, with dense wool, is a good
trap for heavy specks of gold. It is a simple, artisan process. However, discovering
and exploiting this technique requires a good knowledge of the Nature. Anyway, for
the Early Bronze Age this method should have been rather high-tech.
There are two versions of the technique used in Upper Svaneti, the first one being
putting the sheepskin directly in the streambed, securing with sticks to keep it in
place, and the second one – flushing sands through a fleece.
Metallogenic Description of Svaneti Region
In spite of relatively small area occupied by Svaneti region, numerous examples of
significant metallic mineralizations of various genetic types occur there (Fig. 26).
In time and space they are linked with the spatially connected magmatic rocks, as
well as with the sedimentary formations that are the host rocks to these intrusives.
Since 1934, in the time of Soviet Union, near the village of Jvari, mining of gold in
the alluvial placers began along the Enguri River and continued until 1957.
Gold sampling resumed in the same area 30 years later (Geleishvili, 1988). The
sampling has shown that, within this geologically very insignificant time interval, the
gold content in the placers has replenished back to the levels of commercial
importance. Naturally enough, attention was immediately drawn to probable
“culprits” - gold-bearing bedrock structures of the Svaneti region.
Bedrock Gold Occurrences
During the 1960’s-1970’s, in Svaneti region, gold prospecting in the sedimentary
cover rocks began, with poor results, though. Several ore manifestations have been
discovered, but the gold content thereof could not account for the above described
replenishment of gold in the placers, over the time interval so short. However, since
the 1990’s, gold prospecting in the crystalline basement of the Variscan terrain
began, resulting in discovery of Sakeni goldfield that is now considered the main
source of gold in the placers of Svaneti (Okrostsvaridze, 1992; Kviciani et al., 1997;
Okrostsvaridze and Bluashvili, 2009).
Beside Sakeni goldfield, over 60 other ore manifestations have been discovered in
Svaneti, not yet researched though, due to the complexity and inaccessibility of the
relief. Reviewing each of them separately we don’t find possible here. However,
among these we can set apart the following: Kvishi polymetallic, Khalde gold-
antimony, Tviberi polymetallic, Lasili-Arshiri goldfield, Tetnashera massif sulfidic,
Shkenari polymetallic, Szgimazuki massif sulfidic and Lukhra goldfield.
Fig. 26. Schematic geological map of Svaneti region, gold ore mineralization and gold placers.
Gold ore mineralization: 1- Sakeni ore fields; 2-Tetnashera; 3-Shkenari; 4-Lukhra; 5-Guli; 6- Kvishi;
7- Szgimazuki; 8-Tviberi; 9-Khalde; 10- Arshira; 11- Lasili; Gold placers: I- Jvari; II- Khudoni;
III-Khaishi; IV- Chuberi; V-Kharami; VI- Lakhamula; VII- Latali; VIII- Becho; IX-Arshira; X-Lasili;
XI-Ieli.
Presently, Sakeni goldfield is the largest-scale and the best researched ore
manifestation of Svaneti. Four gold-bearing bedrock occurrences are known in the
Sakeni goldfield (Fig. 27). These include: Kakrinachkuri (1), Hokrila (2), Memuli
(3), and Achapara (4) gold-bearing zones.
Fig. 27. Geological map of the Sakeni goldfield and recognized gold occurrences.
Au-bearing zones in bedrock: 1-Kakrinachkuri, 2-Hokrila, 3-Memuli, 4-Achapara; Regional thrust:
MT–Main thrust, AT-Alibek thrust.
They are localized along the northern border of the Sakeni granodiorite intrusive of
Upper Paleozoic generation, whose emplacement is controlled by the Alibeg thrust
zone - the main structure of the region. The mineralized zones are formed in the
deformed and greizenized rocks of a Middle Paleozoic granite-migmatite and include
quartz veins, pods, and stockworks. Gold occurs with quartz-scheelite, quartz-pyrite-
arsenopyrite, and quartz-stibnite assemblages (Fig.28). The highest gold
concentrations (15-80 g/t) are found with the quartz-pyrite-arsenopyrite association.
Fig. 28. Outcrop of Quartz-gold-antimonite ore on the Hokrila occurrence of Sakeni Goldfield.
In the South contact zone of Sakeni intrusive, bedrocks of Dizi series, Tetnashera
ore field has formed, represented mainly by a massive pyrite-pyrotine ore field (Fig.
29). The ore field zone is very large; follows the intrusive for a long distance. Copper
is the main ore of the field, with the content reaching 1%, with gold content within
0.7-2.2 g/t.
Fig. 29. Fragment of pyrite-pyrrhotite massive ore of the Tetnashera ore field.
From our investigations we can conclude that the genetic model of Sakeni goldfield
is: syn-orogenic thermal events have activated a fluid system that mobilized metals
from the Sakeni intrusive complex. The fluid was focused along the Alibeg thrust
fault, with the mineralization localized along and deposited below structural barriers
within the thrust itself. We assume that the gold mineralization represents a post-
magmatic, gold-quartz-low total sulfide hydrothermal event; such paragenesis is
broadly characteristic of many orogenic gold systems (Goldfarb, 2005).
By an estimate, the ore field should contain 30-32 tons of gold (Okrostsvaridze and
Bluashvili, 2009). Given the large area of the bedrock gold mineralization and its
proximity to the headwaters of the primary river system in the region, we think that
the Sakeni goldfield should be one of the main suppliers of alluvial gold to the
Svaneti region. Shown below is a brief description of other gold mineralizations of
Svaneti that also represent sources for the placer gold.
The Kvishi polymetallic ore mineralization is exposed on the right banks of the river
Dolra, about 15km away from the village Becho (see Fig. 26). The field is associated
with a zone of the oxidized, silicified clay shales of the Lower Jurassic period. A 1-
1.5 m thick, 80 m long quartz vein is traced in the zone . The average content of the
vein for gold is 2.25 g/t;for silver - 125 g/t, for copper – 0.06 %, for lead- 7.5 %, for
zinc – 4.8 % (Kviciani et al., 1997).
The gold-antimony mineralization is exposed to the SE of the village Khalde, on the
southern slopes of Mt Tsirnari (see Fig. 26). The mineralization is associated with
the contact zone between the Lower Jurassic clay shale and several diabase dykes. In
the shale, a 6 m wide system of quartz veins has developed parallel to schistosity.
Zone is about 40 m long. Analysis of samples from the vein shows the content of
stibium within 2.88 % - 37.8 %, of gold - within 0.4 g/t-5.3 g/t, and of silver - 130-
362 g/t (Kviciani et al., 1997).
The Tviberi ore mineralization was discovered in 1991 (Okrostsvaridze, 2007) (see
Fig. 26). The mineralization occurs within Lower Jurassic clay-shale, some 18 km
north from the village Zhabeshi. Gold content reaches here 0.8 -1.7 g/t. The size of
outcropping mineralization and its grade (thickness of 180 m and strike extent of over
750 m) have attracted a huge interest.
Lasili-Arshiri goldfield (see Fig. 26) lies in the Enguri River valley, 12 km
northwards of the village Eli, in Lower Jurassic clay shales. The mineralization
consists of gold-bearing quartz veins, which appear to genetically belong to the
mesothermal class of orogenic gold veins. Gold content in these quartz veins varies
widely from a few grams to tens of grams per ton (Kviciani et al., 1997). On the
territory adjacent to this district, gold sand (placer) accumulations are widespread
(see Fig. 25). Nowadays, as well as in the old times, numerous tools used in a
primitive gold mining are being found here.
All of the ore occurrences described above have formed at various depths and their
exhumation has been triggered by the Alpine orogeny. There is no agreed opinion
about exhumation of the Caucasus among the scholars. A part of them, based on the
available geological data believes that, exhumation of this structure began in the
Middle Miocene, 10-11 million years ago, while according to the recent studies based
on apatite thermochronology, a rapid exhumation of the central part of the Caucasus
began in Pliocene 5-7 million years ago (Wang et al., 2015).
To all the available data, the ore fields of Svaneti, together with the host rocks, have
been eroding and weathering for at least 5-7 million years. The disintegrated material
is being transported to the Black Sea by the dense network of affluent rivers and
through this complex process, a large area of river placers have formed in Svaneti,
with gold- bearing sands among these.
Alluvial Gold Occurrences
As was described above, generally, the placer gold is widespread in almost all
alluvial river systems that are draining important bedrock gold districts of the world.
Mobilization and transportation of the products of weathering of these deposits are
usually the source of the alluvial gold. The coarsest of the gold specks or grains (i.e.>
0.5 mm) use to accumulate near the mineralization sources, while the finer-grain gold
is being carried away by streams several kilometers from the source. During the
transport and subsequent deposition, the gold grains undergo significant changes in
shape, size and chemical composition. As a result of dissolution and re-precipitation
after the deposition, the gold grains may increase in size and a “cleansing” of iron,
copper, and other impurities take place; this may lead to an increase in the fineness of
the gold grains.
The entire territory of Svaneti is dissected with multiple affluent rivers that pertain to
the category of highly turbid. Accordingly, the streams flush out and spread in the
valleys a huge volume of material, transporting a part of it further down, to the Black
Sea. A strong stream can transport a floating material, including a heavy fraction
along the full length of the river. As the stream weakens, heavy fractions and the
valuable minerals therein, together with other material, begin to accumulate in
appropriate geomorphologic structures of the gorge. The minerals are: gold, titan
magnetite, scheelite, pyrite, chalcopyrite, zircon, garnet, other.
Because of this, the placer gold of Svaneti is being found mainly in alluvial
sediments. Gold-bearing alluvial sands (gold sands) or gold placers are very common
in Svaneti and their length varies from few meters to several hundred meters. Due to
a number of reasons, both of objective and subjective nature, it is very difficult to
determine the precise number and scale of the gold-bearing placers of Svaneti, though
the approximate number is known. In the Enguri River gorge the placers are: Latali,
Ieli, Tskhumari, Lakhamula, Khuberi, Khaishi, Khudoni and Jvari. Golden sandy
ground is also known by the river. Along the right and the left tributaries the placers
are: Adishi, Mestia, Shikhra, Becho, Gulischala, Idliani, Nenskra, Mashrichala, upper
and lower Koshrini, Pari, Mushuri, Ushba-Etseri, Tseri and Lahili.Among the gold-
bearing alluvial sands of Svaneti we should distinguish Jvari gold placer (see Fig.
25), for the large industrial scale. Lasili and Arshiri gold fields (see Fig. 26) are very
significant too; gold mining here dates back to the times prehistoric. Latali gold fields
(see Fig. 25) are distinguished by a large scale too. Beside the alluvial gold-bearing
sands, gold accumulations in Svaneti are sometimes found in the so called “bear
pots”, pits cut out by the stream in the riverbed rock, where a specific, gravity
accumulation of gold takes place.
We'll describe below, by way of a model, the goldfield of Arshira, as a result of
disintegration of which, gold-bearing placers have formed. The deposit is located on
the ridge, at an altitude of 2800-3000 m, in the upper reaches of the river Arshira,
left tributary of the river Enguri. In the extended areas of the river gorge, several
hundred meters down from the ore, small sandy terraces with a rather high gold
content have formed.
The Arshira goldfield is built of multiple (more than hundred) gold-bearing veins that
run through a volcanogenic Middle Jurassic porphyrite layer. Thickness of the veins
ranges within 0, 2 - 5 meters with the length ranging from tens to hundreds of meters.
The veins are homogenous in mineral content and consist of fissured, milky-colored,
rarely bluish quartz, with small rock-crystal druses. Some veins include pyrite and
siderite, rarely - galenite, sphalerite, hematite, arsenopyrite and antimonite. Iron rust
in many places fills the cracks and voids in the quartz. Among the quartz veins
distinguish: gold-bearing quartz veins; gold-scheelite-quartz-carbonate veins and
polymetallic-arsenopyrite veins.
In the yellowish quartz of the veins, gold is present in the form of scales, or small
isometric grains in the voids formed as a result of sulfide leaching. At times it is
found as quartz increment or a filler of cracks in the quartz. Grains of native gold of
1,5 grams have been found in the form of increments of a massive quartz. The gold
content of the veins is varying widely, reaching few tens of grams per ton, in rare
occasions - as high as 151 – 177 g/t.
Thus, as we could see from this little geological information, there is a big number of
gold-bearing alluvial placers with a high gold content in Svaneti. As noted above,
according to the mythological, archaeological and historical information, mining of
gold from the placers in Svaneti began in the prehistoric age and still continues in the
present.
History and method of Alluvial gold mining in Svaneti region
As shown in the previous chapters, accounts of the alluvial gold mining in Svaneti are
given in the written sources as ancient, as are those of the Antique Age.Greek
historian Strabo (44 BC - 23 AD), wrote about Svaneti and its natives: “In mountain
rivers of this country there is a lot of gold, mined by these barbarians using the
perforated vessels andsheepskin” (Strabo, book-XII).Pliny the Elder, a Roman
naturalist (23- 79 AD) wrote in his book The Natural History: “in Colchis who on
finding a tract of virgin earth, in the country of the Suani, extracted from it a large
amount of gold and silver” (Pliny the Elder, vol. 6).Interestingly, Appian of
Alexandria, an ancient Roman historian (95 AD - 165 AD) writes in his 12
th
book
The History of Mitridate’s wars:
“many rivers carry invisible “gold sand” from the
Caucasian mountains and residents put thick sheepskins into the springs and then
collect precipitated gold”.
Although, from the antique period up to the 18th century there is no more information
about Svaneti gold, medieval mine workings and jewelry workshops that exist in the
region speak in support of the abundance thereof. About the same speak the
wonderful gold artifacts of both ecclesiastical and worldly destination, crafted in
Svaneti during the period in question.According to the historical sources of the 18th
and 19th centuries, at that time, gold was being mined from alluvial placers in
Svaneti. It is worth noting that, V. Goliev, a mining engineer found a gold nugget
enclosed in a quartz matrix that weighed 365 grams, in the Svanetian village of
Aci, in 1861.
Similar facts have been registered many times in Svaneti, what has naturally attracted
a great interest of geologists and adventure seekers towards this area.In 1875-1877, S.
Simonovich, another mining engineer has worked in the Enguri gorge. He made a
conclusion later, that the placers between the villages Aci and Ifari were the richest of
gold in Svaneti. Apart from the mentioned researchers, quite a few mining engineers
of the Russian Empire have been prospecting and washing gold in the river Enguri
gorge and around it in the late 19th and early 20
th
centuries.
In 30-ies of the last century, in the days of the Soviet Union, gold production of an
industrial scale began in Jvari placers of the river Enguri gorge, having lasted for 20
years. In the same period, gold was hand washed under the state control. In addition,
the villages were instructed to mine gold for the country. It is known that a village
has handed over 16 kg of gold during the month. Worth noting that, a 341 gram, 940
pure (up to 23 carat) gold nugget was found in the placer of Lasili in 1941.
At present, Svan locals continue washing gold from the mountain rivers in the same
manner they did in the ancient times-with the use of sheepskins (Fig. 30; )LJ 31; Fig.
32) and special wooden pans (50 cm X30 cm) (Fig. 33). It is rather interesting that
these pans differ from those used for gold panning elsewhere in the world - a clear
evidence that the Svan pans have undergone an independent and long evolution.
Fig. 30. Svan gold washers with a virgin fleece in the river Enguri gorge.
Fig. 31. A sheepskin laid into the streambed and secured with planks.
Fig. 32. Washed sand in river Enguri canyon near village Lasili, where small
size gold nuggets can be detected.
Fig. 33. A wooden pane of ash-tree from village Sgurishi (Upper Svaneti).
In Svaneti rivers, washed sand using sheepskins and wooden pans as a rule contains
in high quantity different heavy minerals such as pyrite, magnetite, apatite and
zircon; though in many cases golden nuggets are found there as well which are
gathered in mechanical way. Natives of Svaneti know well where and when to wash
gold. Beside the wooden pans they use sheepskins, putting them in the streambeds
close to the gold-containing quartz veins, where the veins are being eroded by the
streams.
Figure 34 shows a part of the Alibeg thrust zone, with quartz-arsenopyrite veins
formed at the intersection of several faults. The concentration of gold is 30-80 g/t in
this location. Below this fault zone, washed by the river Quani, gold has been spotted
in the placer gravels. The gravels are presently being panned by the locals (Fig. 35).
Notably, locals in Svaneti wash gold in many other gold-bearing placers too. As an
example, Figure 36 shows the grain of gold found in the gold placer Mashrichala.
Fig. 34. Upper reaches of the river Quani anda part of the Alibegi thrust zone.
Mamuka Narsavidze, a Svaneti local on the photo.
Fig. 35. Gold grains washed from the alluvial placersof the River Quani.
Fig. 36. Gold nugget found in the Mashrichala gold-bearing placer.
Thus, the recent geological studies of Svaneti have shown that gold is still abundant
in this land , quite enough to provide grounds for giving birth to legends and to
explain why this land is reffered to as the "country rich in gold”.
Finally, in the end of this chapter we would note that, in the 70-ies of the last century,
a 278 meters high dam was built for a power plant in the river Enguri gorge, 50 km
away from the Black Sea (Fig. 36). Sadly, the reservoir has blocked transportation of
alluvial material by the river towards the sea, cutting off thereby the placers that are
downstream the dam from replenishing their gold content.
Fig. 37. Dam of the Enguri Power Plant and a part of the water reservoir.
Microscopic study of alluvial gold of Svaneti Region
We have studied the alluvial gold samples and the gold-bearing ore of Svaneti
microscopically, used both, the binocular and the polarized ore microscopes. Here,
we will discuss only two samples, first one being the alluvial native gold grain from
the river Quani gorge and the other - the gold-containing ore sample, taken from the
Ieli placers, where gold stays associated with other minerals.
Under the binocular microscope the particulars look flake-shaped, flat crystals. Their
color can be seen as both light and dark yellow, evenly distributed. The edges are
rounded due to the low rigidity, with unveiled pulse marks on the surface. The
particulars are probably? in the form of nugget gold, with the largest particular as big
as 5 mm (Fig. 38). Under the polarizing ore microscope, a two-phase texture can be
seen in the gold ore sample (Fig. 39).
Fig. 38. Image of alluvial gold nuggets under binocular microscope
.
Fig. 39. Image of gold ore sample under the polarizing ore microscope.
(Au-gold; Pr-Pyrite; Sl-Sylvanite; Pu-Puristit).
The primary phase contains mainly large, pyrites without self-formation, whilst gold
is contained in the secondary phase. A partial deformation has occurred on the first
phase, resulting in the large pyrite particles shattered and the minerals that belong in
the second phase, filling the forming gap between the particles. Besides, the pyrite
crystallization has shown continuity, having had crystallized with gold in the
formation process. The primary minerals are: Gold (Au), Pyrite (FeS
2
), Silver Salts
(Pyragirite-Ag
3
SbS
3
); Proustite – (Ag
3
AsS
3
) and Sylvanite – (AuAgTe
4
).The
reflectivity of gold is very high with the particle surfaces being clean and smooth and
this property makes gold easily distinguishable from other minerals.
Under the microscope gold looked as: bright yellow or dark yellow color; particles
without self-formation; rounding the shape of, or filling the voids between the
minerals that originated earlier. Pyrite has been observed as having a dissipated form
inside the gang, or as the groups with, or without a self structure. The pyrites that
belong to the first phase have self-structured with rounded edges as a result of
disintegration and are surrounded by a limonite shell. They have the shape of
broken, granulated particles with the thin-middle particulars, dissipated in gang or
ending the strip, with the size ranging from 0.01 to 0.08 mm. They are seen as a
single particle with gold, or inside the gang.
Definition and distinguishing of silver salts (pyrargyrite-proustite) has proven very
difficult, because of their extremely thin particles. They are observed as thin particles
inside the quartz gang as closures of the gold. Their size varies between 0.01-0.1 mm.
Sylvanite is found as few particles of 0.01-0.03 mm size, distributed inside the gang,
or as closures inside the gold. It is observed as consisting of particulars without self-
formation.
Thus, we can conclude that the sample is a gold ore. The primary minerals are: gold,
pyrite and the pyrite disintegration products: limonite, pyragyrite, proustite and
sylvanite. The sample has a high gold ingredient and bears the features of the gold-
containing hydrothermal quartz vein.
Findings of Remote Sensing of the Gold Occurrences of Svaneti
As known, in the modern research of the Earth Crust and the Atmosphere, the
Remote Sensing is being widely employed (Schowengerdt, 2007 others.). The
method allows obtaining information about objects and processes remotely, without
physical contact or direct observation. In these particular occasions, data are being
obtained through spectral analysis of images of the Earth crust, taken from aircraft.
However, alongside the multiple advantages, the method has some shortcomings. The
advantage is that the method allows determining the presence of a chemical element
through spectrum analysis of the weathering rind. The method cannot obtain any data
in the cloudiness of over 2%; cannot work with the vegetation cover over 50%; with
snow cover over 30%; with a gradient over 70 degrees, so on. Despite all these
shortcomings, the method is undoubtedly innovative, for obtaining geological data
from inaccessible and vast areas, in particular.
Remote Sensing of the territory of Svaneti was carried out by the General
Directorate of the Mineral Research & Exploration of Turkey, commonly known
as MTA, on request of the “Golden Fleece” Mining Corporation, to explore the
mineralization of gold and other ores. To complete the task, data obtained from Terra
ASTER Multispectral satellite was used.
The ASTER data have three types of spectral bands: VNIR (visible near infrared),
SWIR (short wave infrared) and TIR (thermal infrared). During these analyses
spectral bands have been used. The wavelength intervals of these bands are especially
useful for determining the alteration minerals such as: alunite, kaolinite and phyllic
alteration minerals (sericite, chlorite and epidote). The reason for the use of this
mineral mapping technique is important in terms of revealing the environments of
metallic minerals formation in the study area. The alteration minerals, in particular,
give clues for detection of a metallic formation.
The data obtained by remote sensing for Svaneti confirmed the available information,
and revealed new ore in some cases (Fig. 40 and Fig. 41). Maps clearly demonstrate
that the region is rich in gold and other ores. Of particular interest are the remote
sensing data for the detection of gold placers (Fig. 42).
Fig.39. Remote sensing data of Au, Cu, Pb, W, Sb-As and Mo ore elements
and the fault of the river Nenskra catchment (Chuberi community).
At the end of this chapter we should note that we did not consider it necessary for the
purposes of this study to commit a detailed analysis of the remote sensing data for
the Svaneti region.This method has given enough information about the main ore-
fields of the region and confirmed the mythological, historical and also contemporary
accounts of the alluvial gold-bearing placers of Svaneti, which is a very important
argument for our research.
Fig. 40. Remote sensing data Au, Cu, Pb, W, Sb-As and Mo ore elements and the faults for the whole territory of Svaneti.
Fig. 41.Remote Sensing (Terra ASTER satellite) data on the gold-bearing alluvial placers of Svaneti.
Discussion
Thus, as we could see, the territory of the modern-day Georgia is a region where man
has lived since the prehistoric times, whilst Colchis and Iberia were ancient
Kartvelian kingdoms that have existed as separate until the 10
th
century AD, when
they merged to form a single Georgian Kingdom.
Besides, the work has shown that the Gold Processing Technology has been highly
developed in the both ancient Kingdoms, what gives the reason to suggest that the
Gold Mining Technology should have been there to a standard as well. Based on the
above, we can suppose that Argonauts may have indeed travelled to the Black Sea in
the Early Bronze Age, to explore new lands, obtain Gold mining technology and
other treasure in the ancient kingdom of Colchis.
The present paper, based on a multidisciplinary mythological-archaeological and
ethnographic, historical and geological survey deals with the two contentious issues
of the Argonauts legend: whether or not a voyage of Argonauts to the ancient
kingdom of Colchis happened indeed and what was the actual value of the Golden
Fleece phenomenon.
The country of Colchis described in the legend, according to historical records, in fact
existed in the Bronze Age and was not a mere myth. There was a capital of the Aya
(modern Kutaisi), and the river Phasis (modern Rioni). Besides, there was (and still
is) a province of Svaneti in the kingdom of Colchis, where the rivers have been
carrying down gold, whence the locals, according to historical sources, obtained gold
with the use of sheepskins. Many think that the gold-bearing sheepskin represents the
"Golden Fleece” in the legend.
In addition, in the 80-ies of the last century, Tim Severin, an English traveler and
researcher, in his boat New Argo, proved that Argonauts should have been easily
capable of reaching the Black Sea from the Aegean, putting an end to the claims that
the journey should be just a myth.
Further, there is a clear imprint, both upon the ethnography and the archaeology of
Svaneti, of the Argonauts trip and the Golden Fleece. In the excavations around the
villages of Svaneti archaeologists have discovered numerous bronze artifacts,
depicting a stylized symbiosis of sheep and ram's head. It should be noted that the
theme of the Argonauts and the Golden Fleece is widely reflected in the Svan
ethnography.The local elders are still firmly convinced that Argonauts have actually
travelled to Svaneti. The Svan have been living here for more than 4000 years, due to
what their legends and myths are rather reliable and often bear the imprint of real
events of the ancient history.
The trip of Argonauts to the old kingdom of Colchis is widely covered in the writings
of antiquity. The first reference to the Argonauts is given by genius Homer in his
Odyssey, where he speaks about the expedition noting that this happened long before
the Trojan War. As noted above, the theme of Argonauts in the Antique writing is so
big and complex that can hardly be covered wholly. However, what is the most
important for our research reads clearly in these sources, in particular: the most of the
writings speak about the Argonauts journey as of an event that has really happened.
Beside the literature, Argonauts are broadly covered almost in all fields of the ancient
art, which speaks in favor of this trip being more a reality than a myth. In addition, it
should be noted further that almost 10 centuries have had passed between the
Argonauts journey and the Antique Period. History, in the meantime, tends to be very
forgetful, as we know, and a heroic feat that really happened may well have turned
into a legend as the time passed. We should add here that, Schliemann has effectively
proven with his discovery of the Troy that Homer has been speaking truth. Why
can't we trust the genius poet with his tale of the Argonauts, then?
Interestingly, in the archaeological papers published in recent years, authors suggest
that ancient Iberia might have been the land of the Golden Fleece instead of Colchis,
since according to the papers, there should have been mines in the kingdom of Iberia
about 5000 years ago, where gold was being mined from bedrockdeposits, not placers
(Stollner et al., 2008; Hauptmann, Klein 2009; Stollner et al., 2014). The authors
claim that exactly the huge gold mined there has laid the grounds to the legend about
the land of the Golden Fleece. In our opinion, though, gold mining in these mines is
rather questionable, as is the carbon dating thereof. What is beyond any doubt is that,
by all geological and mining parameters, in the Bronze Age, gold could have been
extracted by men only from placers that contained loose, exzogenic gold and by no
means - from the hard rock ores of hydrothermal origin (Okrostsvaridze, 2016).
As to the geological part of the research, we decided to study the territory of the
ancient Colchis kingdom geologically, in order to find the areas where mining of gold
from alluvial placers could be possible i.e. a place where the Argonauts could have
extracted gold and come to know the ancient mining technologies of this particular
region. Our work has confirmed that Svaneti is, uniquely, a region of the ancient
Colchis Kingdom, where mining of gold from alluvial placers could be possible and
where the locals still wash gold from alluvial placers through modern domestic,
wooden vessels or pans with holes.
At the same time, however, the present-day intensive erosion cycle caused by: 1)
abundant modern precipitation as well as the 2) extensive glacial melting into the
affluent hydrological network and 3) rapid uplift of the Svaneti segment of the
Greater Caucasus, have all promoted the fast replenishment of gold content in the
present-day river placers. The concept of the ongoing active enrichment of the stream
gravels can be seen as a geological argument in support of high level of gold mining
activity in the historical past as well as today.
Remote Sensing of the territory of Svaneti, carried out within the frame of our
research, confirmed the available geological data on the rich gold presence in the
region. The Remote Sensing data proved particularly interesting for identification of
gold bearing placers. The study confirmed existence of old, geologically known river
placers with high gold content and also discovered new ones.
Thus, the recent geological studies of Svaneti support the claims that gold is
abundant in this area and that its content in the river gravels is high enough to give
birth to legends and describe the region as “a land of gold”. Further, the geological
data obtained by our team in Svaneti, seen as a response, supports the idea that: "the
country of the Suani" as referred to Pliny the Elder and other ancient sources, is the
modern-day Svaneti, not another province of the ancient Colchis kingdom.
The newly obtained geological data brought significant amendments into perceptions
about the Argonauts time too. As discussed above, the myth of the Argonauts was
born in the time of the Minoan civilization (Aegean Bronze Age Civilization),
which, as known, developed during the early Bronze Age, around XXV - XV
century BC (Bennet, 2003) and was suddenly destroyed in XV century BC
(Castleden, 2005).
Decline and subsequent disappearance of this civilization the modern scientific
research links to the activity of Santorin/Terra super-volcano (Balter, 2006, etc.).
According to the study, a powerful explosion of the volcano caused catastrophic
earthquake and tsunami destroying the Minoan civilization that prospered along the
Mediterranean at those times. Interestingly, some researchers link the catastrophic
explosion to the biblical Flood, whereas others - to the disappearance of the mythical
Atlantis.
The Santorin/Terra super-volcano locates 70 km to the NE of Crete Isle. There are
historic reports about the activity by the volcano repeated multiple times (197 BC, 46,
726 AD, so on); however, the precise date of the final catastrophe is still disputable.
By the chronicles of Ancient Egypt, the eruption occurred in1500 BC (Warren,
2006); in 1645 -1600 BC - by carbon dating (Manning, et al., 2006), whilst by the
micro Rb-Sr dating, it happened in the interval of 1470-1480 BC (Goldschmidt2013
Abst., 2013). As we can see, the data are scattered in time, but for our research it is
not essential. Generally, we can suggest that the explosion occurred between the 16th
and 15th centuries BC. As discussed above, by origin, the Argonauts were Minoans
(Minyans), who, according to the “ Histories “ by Herodotus settled on the Santorin/
Terra Island on by BC 800, what suggests that they had previously lived on a nearby
island.
Based on the above, we tend to think that Argonaut’s expedition happened before the
catastrophic blow up of the Santorin / Terra super-volcano, since such blowup would
be particularly damaging for Minoans and they could have no longer been capable of
such a large-scale expedition.
In the end of the discussion, we should note that one of the arguments, according to
which the scientists believe that the Argonauts trip to the kingdom of Colchis is a
myth and not a reality, is that there are no structuresorruins left to prove the existence
of powerful kingdom of Colchis in the XV-XVII centuries, BC.
Logically, since the Caucasus is a young orogenic system, where many natural
disasters have taken place, we admit that one or more of such events could have
caused destruction of all physical evidence of the culture of ancient Colchis. Further,
we should also take into account high probability of numerous wars and destruction
that the ancient kingdom of Colchis had to experience, whereas each of these were
easily capable of obliteration of the Colchian cultural heritage.
And finally, it is also possible that the ancient Colchians used to build only wooden
structures, since the timber was available in great abundance.
Summary
Based on the analysis of our research, we think that a harmonious sequence of the
mythological, archaeological, ethnographic, historical and geological data clearly
demonstrates that the heroic journey of the Argonauts to the ancient kingdom of
Colchis was a true historic event that later became shrouded in legend.
The main objective of the trip was to get hold of the treasure of the kingdom of
Colchis and learn the technology of gold extraction from the river placers. As an
extra task, they had to also discover and explore new lands. Expeditions from the
Aegean to the Black sea like this one, should have been rather common in the Early
Bronze Age, since later, a massive colonization of the Black sea coast by Greeks took
place. We think that it might have been a mission with the objectives similar to those
of the expedition of Hernán Cortés, the Spanish Empire sent to Central America in
the early 16
th
century.
If we look at the existing historical, ethnographic and archaeological data, Svaneti is
the province of Colchis, where the Argonauts were heading. The same is confirmed
by the available geological data, since Svaneti is the land where it was (and still is),
possible to wash gold from the river sands. Most likely, the Argonauts have travelled
to Colchis before the eruption of the Santorini/terra super-volcano (16
th
-15
th
century
BC) that destroyed the Aegean civilization of the Mediterranean. We think that since
the Argonauts were representing this civilization, after the catastrophe they were in
the least likely capable of carrying out an expedition of this scale.
As concerns the Golden Fleece Phenomenon, the theme, as we know, is still
disputable despite numerous published papers. Initially, it should have had a
symbolic meaning of gold mining technique with the use of sheepskins; In the
Antique period, which is widely considered as an era of myths, more than 10
centuries after the Argonauts voyage, the Golden Fleece became a myth; In the
Middle Ages, when knighthood was the greatest among the virtues, the "Golden
Fleece" became a symbol of the knighthood and strength; during the Renaissance,
when wealth was the greatest of the goals for the noblemen, it stood for the wealth; In
the modern era, the "Golden Fleece" phenomenon is again a subject of discussion
and one of the main objects in the research of the Aegean civilization of the Bronze
Age.
Afterword
At the end of this book, I would note that at present, almost on all the territory of
Upper Svaneti permits are issued to various companies in the gold mining industry
that are working with the both, the main ore and the gold-bearing placers. In one
occasion, a foreign company began gold mining from the Ieli placer in 2015, but had
to halt the operations because of the strong protests from the local population. The
reasons of the protest are diverse: for some of the locals, gold panning is the only
source of income; others see the industrial mining as an unacceptable violation of the
traditional, centuries-old harmonious lifestyle; still others are worried about the
environmental problems that arise from the mining activities.
It is very difficult to answer the question: what is the better option for this unique
corner of the Caucasus, proceed with the mining industrialization, or leave the things
the way they are, that is to say - primitive. For me, as for a separate individual, the
latter option is more acceptable. However, only the future will show what becomes of
the “country rich in gold “which is believed once was the destination of the heroic
voyage of Argonauts.
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