MTSKHETA – SAMTAVRO 1985

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Location

City

Mtskheta [მცხეთა]

County

Mtskheta [მცხეთა]

Region

Mtskheta-Mtianeti [მცხეთა-მთიანეთი]

Country

Georgia

Ancient place

Meschistha
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mtskheta

Lat/Long/Alt

41.846495 / 44.71892 / 476.6 view

Location details

Centred on village/city

Find spot comment

Convent

Information

16032

Permalink

https://chre.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/hoard/16032

Hoard name

MTSKHETA – SAMTAVRO 1985

Alternative names

მცხეთა

Data type

Group of single finds

Date of discovery (from)

1985

Total number of coins

Summary

Coins found in sarcophagus no. 905: 34 gold and silver coins: 3 Aurei: Nero 2, Hadrian 1; 14 denarii: Augustus 12,Uncertain (Augustus?) 2; 1 hemidrachm of Hadrian, and 16 drachms of Gotarzes II.

Details
Coins Summary
Coins
Rating
Archaeological context
Containers
Objects
References
Reports
Images
Credit

Discovery method

Controlled archaeological investigation
Land Use

Unknown
Disposition

National Museum of Georgia, Tbilisi
Comment

Grave no. 905 discovered during archaeological excavations. List of coins based on Apakidze A. & Nicolaishvili V., 1994. From A. APAKIDZE and V. NIKOLAISHVILI's paper, p. 18: 'Two similar tombs (Nos. 905 and 906) were found side by side on the south slope of the Samtavro cemetery (fig. 2), but 906 had already been robbed. Both were built of thick flat greyish stones with gabled roofs. They were constructed in yellowish clay soil at a depth of 1 -55m to 1 -65m, and were oriented from east to west. The overall dimensions of Tomb 905 were 3-14m by 1 -65m, and the walls were on average 020m thick. The floor consisted of three stones, while the four walls were monolithic. The gabled roof was made of two stones joined with iron cramps set in lead (fig. 3). The space between the outer walls and the surrounding earth was filled with large pebbles.'
Closing reign (earliest)

Hadrian
Terminal year (earliest)

117
Closing reign (latest)

Hadrian
Terminal year (latest)

138
Opening year (earliest)

-27
Opening year (latest)

14
Coin-level data

Entered

Fetching coin data

Numismatic rating

Fair
Context rating

Poor
Findspot rating

Poor

Site comment

Mtskheta was the capital of the early Georgian Kingdom of Iberia from the 3rd century BC to the 5th century AD. The chronicles mention that the Kingdom of Iberia and its capital were conquered by Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC. Eventually, the ruler appointed by Alexander ruined the walls of Mtskheta and left only four fortresses, one of them known today as Armazi. Both the excavations and The Georgian chronicles mention considerable construction in the Hellenistic period: residential houses, palaces and fortifications. New wall around Mtskheta was built by the first Georgian King Parnavaz in the beginning of the 3rd century BC, and later strengthened by his son Saurmag in the late 3rd - beginning of 2nd century BC. In the end of the 2nd century - beginning of the 1st, the King Parnajom strengthened his relations with Persians and invited Zoroastrian priests to settle in Mtskheta. This probably led to construction of Zoroastrian temples in the city. Meanwhile, no such archeological evidences exist. The walls of Mtskheta were improved during the reign of Bartom in the 1st century BC, and later also by Aderki, often identified with Pharasmanes I. The latter king is associated with appearance of first Christian communities in Kartli and arrival of the Holy Tunic to Mtskheta, brought from Jerusalem by local Jews. (Wikipedia)
Associated features

Grave no. 905 discovered during archaeological excavations.
Recovery method

Excavation
Site class

Urban

Context

Burial

Depositional context

Grave

Objects belonging to this hoard

Bronze oinochoe and a patera containing three bronze bells

Sardonyx vessel
Three sardonyx vessels

Gold jewellery with some with carnelian and turquoise

Silver plate
Several pieces of silver plate, from a dish bearing a Parthian inscription

Iron lamp

Glass bottles

Mesopotamian cylinder- and an Achaemenid pyramidal stamp-seal
Mesopotamian cylinder- and an Achaemenid pyramidal stamp-seal

Pearl and rock crystal beads

Paste, talc, glass, amber, jet,

References

Reference

Furtwängler, A. E., Gagoshidze, I. and Löhr, H. - 2008 - Iberia and Rome : the excavations of the palace at Dedoplis Gora and the Roman influence in the Caucasian kingdom of Iberia

Ref

p. 247, Gotarzes II, no. 30; p. 250, Nero, no. 4; p. 251, Trajan, no. 7.

Reference

Tsotselia, M. and Depeyrot, G. - 2010 - Coin finds in Georgia (6th century BC - 15th century AD)

Ref

93, no. 557

Uploaded by C. Gazdac (Oct 2019). Imported from CSV by Dr Cristian Gazdac. Updated by A. Kéfélian (June 2022) (coin level data; archaeological context and details).

Coin Hoards
of the Roman Empire

MTSKHETA – SAMTAVRO 1985

Data not added to the map

Objects belonging to this hoard

Bronze oinochoe and a patera containing three bronze bells

Sardonyx vessel
Three sardonyx vessels

Gold jewellery with some with carnelian and turquoise

Silver plate
Several pieces of silver plate, from a dish bearing a Parthian inscription

Iron lamp

Glass bottles

Mesopotamian cylinder- and an Achaemenid pyramidal stamp-seal
Mesopotamian cylinder- and an Achaemenid pyramidal stamp-seal

Pearl and rock crystal beads

Paste, talc, glass, amber, jet,

References

Coin Hoardsof the Roman Empire

MTSKHETA – SAMTAVRO 1985

Objects belonging to this hoard

References

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Coin Hoards
of the Roman Empire