
Fortress settlements in the South Caucasus appeared between 1500-500 BCE, and represent an unprecedented development in the prehistory of the regions. Situated at the boundary between Europe, the Eurasian Steppe, and the Middle East, the Caucasus region has a long history as a cultural crossroads with distinctive local identities.
Research on the fortress - named Dmanisis Gora - began with test excavations on a fortified promontory between two deep gorges. A subsequent visit in Autumn, when the knee-high high summer grasses had died back, revealed that the site was much larger than originally thought. Scattered across a huge area outside the inner fortress were the remains of additional fortification walls and other stone structures. Because of its size, it was impossible to get a sense of the site as a whole from the ground.