Archaeologists Discover 3000-Year-Old ‘Mega-Fortress’ 40 Times Larger Than Expected

When Georgia archaeologists conducted test excavations at the 3,000-year-old fort, they worked in tall summer grass. When they return in the fall, however, they discover that the plant previously hid something hideous.

Using drone technology, researchers from the UK, Georgia and the US have mapped the extent of the Bronze Age “mega-fortress” Demanesis Gora in the Caucasus Mountains and discovered that the complex is 40 times larger than previously suggested. Their research, detailed in a January 8 study published in the journal AntiquityCan provide insight into patterns of growth and urbanization of ancient settlements worldwide

“The use of drones allowed us to understand the significance of the site and document it in a way that would not be possible on the ground,” said Nathaniel Erb-Satullo of the Cranfield Forensic Institute, a Cranfield University statement. “Damanisis Gora is not only a significant find for the South Caucasus region, but it has a wider significance for the diversity of structures of large-scale settlements and their formation processes.”

The Caucasus is a geographic region spanning Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and parts of Armenia, and is an ancient crossroads of cultures, including indigenous populations. According to the study, between 1500 and 500 BC, large fortified settlements began to develop in the South Caucasus region.

Erb-Satullo and her co-director, Dimitri Zachvliani of the Georgian National Museum and a participant in the study, began investigating Demonesis Gora in 2018. After initial test excavations, the team returned to discover that the autumn landscape had revealed additional castle walls and stone structures outside the inner castle that they had previously identified. The complex was obviously much bigger than they thought – but it seemed impossible to document just how big they were from the ground.

“That’s what gave rise to the idea of ​​using a drone to assess the site from the air,” says Erb-Satullo. The researchers used a drone to take about 11,000 photos of the site, which they combined to create digital elevation models and orthophotos: aerial photographs corrected for elements such as the angle from which the photos were taken.

“These datasets enabled us to identify fine topographic features and accurately map all the fortification walls, graves, field systems and other stone structures within the outer settlement,” added Erb-Satullo. “The results of this survey show that the site is 40 times larger than originally thought, with a large outer settlement protected by a 1km-long fortification wall.” One kilometer is approximately 0.62 miles.

Erb-Satullo and her colleagues then compared the orthophotos with Cold War-era spy satellite images released in 2013 to analyze how the site has evolved over the past five decades, highlighting modern agricultural encroachment.

Although modern expansion threatens the site, the researchers speculate that thousands of years ago, Dominicus Gora itself experienced impressive urban growth “due to interactions with mobile pastoral groups,” Erb-Satullo explains. “Its large outdoor settlement expanded and contracted seasonally. Maybe,” he added.

Now, the team hopes to use the newly collected data to further investigate factors such as population density and intensity, livestock movements and agricultural practices.

Finally, the drone mapping of Demanesis Gora sheds light on the mega-fortress as well as the broader patterns of late Bronze Age and early Iron Age society as a whole. This is another example Declassified spy satellite imagery lends a hand to archaeologists The photo was taken decades later.