BMCR 2008.11.15, Darejan Kacharava, Wine, Worship, and Sacrifice

Darejan Kacharava, Guram Kvirkvelia, Wine, Worship, and Sacrifice: the
Golden Graves of Ancient Vani.  Princeton:  Institute for the Study of
the Ancient World; In association with Princeton University Press,
2008.  Pp. 215.  ISBN 9780691138565.  $40.00.

Reviewed by Eleni Konstantinidi-Syvridi, National Archaeological
Museum, Athens ([email protected])
Word count:  1711 words
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[Authors and titles are listed at the end of the review.]

"Wine, Worship and Sacrifice", a publication presented in the frame of
the homonymous temporary exhibition at the Institute for the Study of
the Ancient World at New York University, is much more than an
exhibition catalogue. It is the long awaited publication of the
archaeology of ancient "rich in gold" Colchis and the extraordinary
finds of the city of Vani, a most important centre with a life span
from the 8th to the 1st centuries BC. The catalogue is the first
comprehensive English-language publication about ancient Colchis and
Vani. Beautifully illustrated, it succeeds in giving a complete picture
of the archaeology of a culture in which we can trace the roots of
ancient jewellery techniques and viticulture. The authors themselves,
Kacharava and Kvirkvelia, are senior researchers at the National Museum
in Tbilisi, Georgia, and the rest of the contributors are all experts
in Black Sea archaeology.

The book starts with introductory letters by the Directors of the
organizing institutes. The main core is divided into seven chapters,
focusing on the history of ancient Colchis and especially the city of
Vani, as well as the importance of metalwork and wine-making, as two of
the major driving forces contributing to its development.

The first chapter deals with the myth of the Argonauts and seeks its
traces in history. The tale of Jason's voyage with the Argonauts from
Iolcus in Thessaly in search of the Golden Fleece finds its historical
base in the importance of ancient Colchis' mines of gold, silver, iron
and copper. Mines and metallurgical centres have indeed come to light
in Georgia, dated from the second half of the 2nd millennium BC,
contemporary with the Mycenaean period when the importance of the Black
Sea to the Greeks is first recorded. Discoveries at Troy support the
hypothesis that the Trojan War itself took place for the control of the
Black Sea. After all, the participants of the Trojan war were the sons
of the Argonauts as mentioned in Homer: they were the first to overcome
the obstacle of the Clashing Rocks (Odyssey, Book 12) and open the way
to the Black Sea.

Next comes a discussion of the identity of the Colchian people. Their
country is mentioned in Near Eastern sources from as early as the 13th
cent. BC, under the name of "Upper Sea". There is a brief mention to
the Proto-Colchian culture, of the Early and Middle Bronze Ages (second
half of 2nd millennium- beginning of the 1st millennium BC) that
revealed bronze items, among which are the so-called Colchian axes,
decorated with geometric ornaments, astral signs and representations of
animals. The chapter concludes by mentioning the continuous contacts
between Classical Greece and Colchis, attested archaeologically through
Greek finds in Colchis and through Colchian objects in Samos (miniature
bells, plaques and the statue of a female rider with a child).

The second chapter is a presentation of Vani and the history of the
site's excavations. The settlement, located in the foothills of the
Lesser Caucasus, to the south of the river Rioni, was probably called
Leukothea in antiquity. Some scholars believe that Vani was a sanctuary
city between the 3rd and 1st cent. BC, when according to the Roman
geographer Strabo, it came to an end. This is the first extended
presentation of these remarkable finds to the Western public, as all
bibliography known so far was written in Georgian (sometimes with a
summary in Russian).

The chapter continues by presenting all scholars who contributed  to
the development of research at Vani, like Alexander Stoianov who in
1889 conducted excavations there on behalf of the Archaeological
Society of Moscow and found tombs of the ancient Greek period with gold
objects, the Georgian scholar Ekvtime Takaishvili who in 1896 began
excavations and soon came across unique finds, and of course Otar
Lordkipanidze; thanks to his efforts and his expeditions the Vani
Archaeological Museum was built in 1985. It is also due to his
initiative that scholars of Black Sea archaeology from all over the
world gather every three or four years since 1977.

The remains of Vani provide evidence for strong influences between
ancient Colchis and Greece both in religion (i.e. cult of Apollo and of
Dionysos and his company) and in the Hellenistic metalwork, influenced
by Greek aesthetic rules. The presence of Dionysos' cult in particular
gives the author the opportunity to talk about the origin of wine
making and support the theory that wine was first made in Georgia, as
shown by archaeological evidence. Grape pips of cultivated vines have
been found in Georgia from as early as 7000-5000 BC, while a recent
analysis made by the University of Pennsylvania Museum on the inner
surface of some 8,000 year-old ceramic storage jars has shown that they
contained resinated red wine from an area close to Tbilisi.

Next comes a brief presentation of the rich tombs at Vani during the
5th and 4th cent. BC (their contents formed the core of the
exhibition). The dead were furnished with an abundance of gold and
silver jewellery and their shroud was sewn with gold beads. It is
interesting how the element of human and animal sacrifice is testified
archaeologically, as it seems that the wives, the servants and horses
of the nobles were sacrificed and buried along with them, a practice
with parallels in the Scythian civilisation of the Greater Caucasus.

The chapter further presents the finds unearthed at Vani from 1947 to
the present. After a brief introduction to the history of the site,
which inevitably repeats some information from the previous chapters,
there is a presentation of the four main phases, first identified by
Otar Lordkipanidze, each of them characterised by certain economic
activities, burial rites and external influences. An extended
presentation of the architectural types, artefacts and innovations of
each phase is given. The text is accompanied by comprehensive site
plans as well as illustrations of typical artefacts for each phase.

Although emphasis is given to the local character of Vani, which it
retained throughout its history, Greek imports are also discussed,
especially the pottery of Phase II (end of 7th cent. BC- first half of
4th cent. BC) consisting of  amphorae of Chios, Lesvos and Thasos and
examples of painted Attic pottery, as well as Attic bronzes, archaic
gems of Ionian manufacture and signet rings of Attic and West Greek
origin. During Phase III which lasts to the first half of the 3rd cent.
BC, new contacts are evident with places like Mende, Sinope, Thasos and
Heraklea and a major Greek influence is seen on both building
techniques and grave practises.

The next chapter is an essay on the exquisite Colchian goldwork, an art
developed in the classical land of gold. Again, the author shows us how
the local artistic metalwork melds? the traditions of the Near East and
the Hellenic world: there is wide use of filigree and granulation on
necklaces and pendants, along with the traditional forms of Colchian
earrings that were used as offerings in temples, with fixed globular or
bipyramidal pendants. The images of animals and birds adorning most
pieces relate to the cult of the predominant Colchian goddess, the
Great Mother. It seems that Vani jewellery attests to the existence of
a local goldsmithing school in opposition to the Hellenistic koine. The
theory is supported by the remains of a goldsmith's workshop that came
to light with tools, unfinished jewellery pieces, slag and fragments of
charred wood, together with a cult place functioning at the workshop.

As eye-capturing as the goldwork of Vani is, there is hardly anything
more interesting and unique than the six odd-looking figures (three of
iron, three of bronze) - together with a standard Hellenistic type of a
Satyr - and the way they were buried with extra care, implying their
ritual role. The presentation of that group is the subject of the next
essay. The idols represent naked male figures with abnormally elongated
bodies, adorned with a lot of jewellery attached to them, namely
headdresses, spiral torques, earrings, pendants and bracelets, by which
they are dated to the 3rd cent. BC. There are many theories for their
use as part of a cult of the dead -as their presence is connected with
cult buildings-, the most interesting being their use as substitutes
for priests who in previous periods were sacrificed in unknown
religious rituals.

The next chapter focuses again on the importance of Dionysus' presence
in connection to the wine production in ancient Colchis and its role in
social and religious life. Numerous objects connected with consumption
of wine, like amphorae, as well as objects connected to Dionysus like
masks of the deity himself, a terracotta mold of Silenos, all unearthed
in an architectural complex on the central terrace of the site of
religious character, imply the worship of Dionysus in late Hellenistic
Vani. Among the finds there is evidence for furniture used in the
preparation of food and drink.

The final chapter is the analytical presentation of four of the graves,
the contents of which were displayed in the exhibition. They form part
of a group of 28 "golden graves", dated from 450 to 250 BC, that
contained large quantities of jewellery and other precious items. A
brief presentation of grave construction (use of wood) and burial
practises (evidence for human and animal sacrifice, death coins in the
mouth of the deceased) is also made for each tomb separately.

A checklist of additional finds of the tombs giving their dimensions
and the relevant bibliography concludes this valuable publication. All
in all, it is a useful library addition,  a necessary tool to the
scholar of Classical and Hellenistic antiquity, as well as to all those
who are interested in learning more about a culture so far unknown to
the West, but with a significant role in metal and wine production from
early antiquity. It is certain that this will stimulate scholars'
interest and will gather many more attendees to the 2010 Vani Symposium
that will focus on the graves presented here.

Chapters:

Medea's Colchis by Nino Lordkipanidze
Vani, Rich in Gold  by Michael Vickers
The Archaeology of Vani
Religious ritual: Bronze and Iron figurines from Vani
Viticulture and Dionysos in Hellenistic Vani
The Golden Graves of Ancient Vani