A
Eastern Black Sea coast and Chorokhi corridor
Apsaros / Gonio / გონიო
Fortifications, barracks, baths, objects, burials, roads, harbor connections, and local settlement evidence illuminate soldiers, traders, families, laborers, and neighboring communities on a changing Roman and late-antique frontier.
Roman-late antique fort, garrison, maritime, mobility, labor, and local-encounter context
Approximately first-seventh centuries CE for principal Roman and late-antique phases, within a longer site history
Fortifications, barracks, baths, inscriptions, coins, ceramics, glass, burials, roads, coastal landscape study, and attributed Roman testimony
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Gonio-Apsaros fortress; a military and maritime reference site, not a territorial, ethnic, or cultural boundary
- Language family
- Written languages indicate institutions and users, not one language or identity for every resident
A
Arpa River valley and southern Armenian Highlands
Areni-1 / Արենի-1 քարանձավ
Dry cave conditions preserved installations, containers, plant remains, textiles, leather, human remains, and other materials that illuminate Chalcolithic food production, craft, ritual, and burial practices.
Chalcolithic cave, preservation, food-production, craft, burial, and ethical-stewardship context
Principal Chalcolithic use approximately 4300-3400 BCE, within a longer multi-period cave history
Stratigraphy, radiocarbon dating, installations, pottery, botanical residues, leather, fibers, tools, human remains, burial contexts, and conservation research
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Areni-1 Cave and research center; a protected cave context, not the capital, homeland, or identity boundary of one Chalcolithic people
- Language family
- Unknown from archaeological evidence
A
Ararat Plain and Armenian Highlands
Artashat / Արտաշատ; Artaxiad Armenia
Urban quarters, fortifications, coins, seals, inscriptions, craft, trade, agriculture, and external testimony place Artashat within royal competition and connected Armenian Highland communities.
Hellenistic kingdom, urban, royal, economic, multilingual, and regional-network context
Approximately 189 BCE-first century CE for Artaxiad rule, with later urban phases
Urban excavation, fortifications, coins, seals, ceramics, craft areas, inscriptions, environmental evidence, and attributed Greek, Roman, and Armenian testimony
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Artashat archaeological city; a royal and urban center, not a timeless national capital or ethnic boundary
- Language family
- Armenian is Indo-European; homeland debates and dynastic subjecthood cannot prove modern national or personal ancestry
C
Eastern Caucasus, Kura-Alazani lowlands, and Caspian approaches
Qəbələ / Qabala; Caucasian Albania
Urban remains, fortifications, ceramics, coins, inscriptions, churches, roads, and external accounts situate Qabala within a multilingual polity shaped by local communities and Iranian, Roman, Armenian, and steppe relations.
Ancient-late antique polity, urban, multilingual, religious, and imperial-frontier context
Approximately fourth century BCE-seventh century CE, with changing territorial and political definitions
Urban excavation, fortifications, ceramics, coins, inscriptions, church archaeology, roads, landscape survey, and attributed Greek, Roman, Armenian, and Persian testimony
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Ancient Qabala archaeological area; a major urban reference, not a universal capital for every period or an ethnic boundary
- Language family
- Caucasian Albanian is associated with Northeast Caucasian evidence and related to Udi, but this does not equate ancient subjects with one living community or ancestry
C
Eastern Georgia, Kura-Aragvi confluence, and central Caucasus corridors
Kartli / ქართლი; Mtskheta / მცხეთა
Armaztsikhe, cemeteries, inscriptions, imported objects, roads, river corridors, fortifications, and later churches illuminate a multilingual kingdom and long-lived urban-sacred landscape at Mtskheta.
Hellenistic-late antique kingdom, urban, inscriptional, religious, and corridor context
Approximately fourth-third centuries BCE through sixth century CE, within a longer settlement history
Fortifications, settlements, cemeteries, architecture, Greek, Aramaic, and later Georgian inscriptions, coins, imported goods, religious buildings, and external texts
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Armaztsikhe and Mtskheta urban-sacred landscape; a major royal and religious center, not a boundary of one ethnicity
- Language family
- Georgian is Kartvelian; multilingual inscriptions cannot assign every resident one language or identity
C
Western Georgian lowlands, Rioni basin, and eastern Black Sea
Vani / ვანი; Colchis / Κολχίς
Architecture, burials, sanctuaries, goldwork, bronze, ceramics, inscriptions, imported objects, farming, and Black Sea exchange illuminate local power and connected communities in western Georgia.
Iron Age-Hellenistic settlement, sanctuary, craft, burial, and Black Sea connection context
Approximately eighth-first centuries BCE, with principal urban and sanctuary phases in the first millennium BCE
Settlement excavation, architecture, sanctuaries, burials, metalwork, ceramics, inscriptions, imported goods, numismatics, environmental evidence, and Greek testimony
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Vani archaeological site and museum; a major regional center, not a universal Colchian capital or ethnic boundary
- Language family
- Kartvelian connections are discussed through later linguistic evidence, but artifacts cannot assign every resident a language
D
Southern Caucasus highlands and Mashavera River basin
Dmanisi / დმანისი
Stone tools, animal remains, sediments, and unusually complete hominin fossils make Dmanisi central to revisable accounts of early movement beyond Africa and adaptation in western Eurasia.
Early Pleistocene archaeological, palaeoanthropological, environmental, and dispersal context
Approximately 1.85-1.75 million years ago for the principal early Pleistocene contexts
Stratified sediments, palaeomagnetism, radiometric dating, stone tools, fauna, taphonomy, hominin fossils, geology, and comparative palaeoanthropology
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Dmanisi archaeological site and museum reserve; a research context, not an origin point for any modern people or ancestry boundary
- Language family
- Not recoverable from the archaeological record
D
Ararat Plain and southern Caucasus crossroads
Dvin / Դվին
Fortifications, churches, residences, workshops, markets, seals, coins, ceramics, burials, and imported goods illuminate households, labor, religion, administration, and exchange through Roman-Sasanian and early Islamic transitions.
Late-antique and early Islamic urban, administrative, religious, craft, and transformation context
Approximately fourth century-700 CE for this profile, within a longer urban history
Urban stratigraphy, fortifications, churches, palatial and domestic buildings, workshops, ceramics, coins, seals, inscriptions, burials, environmental evidence, and attributed texts
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Dvin archaeological city; a major administrative and religious center, not a timeless national capital or ethnic boundary
- Language family
- Armenian is Indo-European; written language, political subjecthood, religion, residence, and modern identity remain distinct categories
D
Western Georgian uplands and Rioni basin
Dzudzuana Cave / ძუძუანას მღვიმე
Layered occupations, stone and bone tools, ornaments, fauna, plant fibers, pigments, and environmental evidence illuminate repeated cave use and skilled work in the western Caucasus.
Upper Paleolithic cave, household, craft, subsistence, and preservation context
Approximately 34,000-13,000 years ago, with occupational gaps and phase-specific dating
Cave stratigraphy, radiocarbon dates, lithics, bone tools, ornaments, fauna, pollen, microscopic fibers, pigments, and regional comparison
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Dzudzuana Cave; a repeatedly used archaeological site, not a tribal homeland, ethnic boundary, or single continuous settlement
- Language family
- Unknown from archaeological evidence
G
Southeastern Caucasus and western Caspian shore
Qobustan qayaüstü rəsmləri / Gobustan
Rock engravings, shelters, occupation deposits, burials, inscriptions, and environmental change document long histories of hunting, gathering, pastoral activity, boats, movement, and later visitation near the Caspian.
Multi-period rock-art, habitation, landscape, mobility, and stewardship context
Upper Paleolithic contexts through medieval and later historical inscriptions, with dates varying by panel and site
Rock-art recording, superimposition, shelters, excavated deposits, burials, inscriptions, landscape study, palaeoenvironmental reconstruction, and conservation monitoring
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape and museum reserve; a serial heritage landscape, not an ethnic, territorial, or sovereignty boundary
- Language family
- Unknown for prehistoric phases; later writing cannot identify every maker or resident
K
Central North Caucasus mountain valleys and piedmont
Koban / Кобан archaeological contexts
Mountain settlements, cemeteries, weapons, ornaments, animal imagery, ceramics, farming, herding, and metallurgy document locally varied Late Bronze and Early Iron Age communities in the central northern Caucasus.
Late Bronze-Early Iron Age archaeological-classification, settlement, burial, metallurgy, and mountain-lifeway context
Approximately thirteenth-fourth centuries BCE, with regional phase variation
Cemeteries, settlements, architecture, ceramics, bronze and iron objects, faunal and botanical evidence, typology, chronology, and regional comparison
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Koban village discovery context; a type-site orientation, not an ethnic capital, homeland, or modern identity boundary
- Language family
- Unknown; links to later language communities remain debated and cannot establish descent
K
Southern Caucasus and neighboring Anatolian and Iranian highlands
Shengavit / Շենգավիթ
Shengavit's architecture, hearths, pottery, tools, craft areas, plant and animal remains contribute household-scale evidence to a wide and internally varied Early Bronze Age archaeological pattern.
Early Bronze Age archaeological-classification, settlement, household, craft, and mobility context
Approximately 3400-2400 BCE regionally, with site-specific sequences
Settlement stratigraphy, architecture, hearths, ceramics, lithics, metallurgy, botanical and faunal remains, radiocarbon dates, and interregional comparison
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Shengavit settlement and museum reserve; one major reference site, not the capital or boundary of a Kura-Araxes people
- Language family
- Unknown; linguistic homeland proposals remain debated and cannot be treated as national proof
L
Western Georgia, Colchian lowlands, and eastern Black Sea hinterland
Egrisi / ეგრისი; Nokalakevi / ნოქალაქევი
Fortifications, churches, palatial and domestic buildings, baths, ceramics, coins, burials, and surrounding settlement evidence illuminate a western Georgian kingdom within Roman-Sasanian competition and local networks.
Late-antique kingdom, fortified city, household, religious, military, and imperial-encounter context
Approximately fourth-seventh centuries CE for principal Lazica/Egrisi phases, within a longer site sequence
Fortifications, urban excavation, domestic and elite architecture, churches, baths, ceramics, coins, burials, landscape survey, and attributed Byzantine, Persian, and Georgian texts
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Nokalakevi archaeological site; a major fortified center and probable Archaeopolis, not the center of every Lazican community or a modern boundary
- Language family
- Kartvelian language history is relevant, but texts and material culture cannot assign every subject one identity
L
Lake Sevan basin and Armenian Highlands
Lchashen / Լճաշեն
Settlement remains, cemeteries, wooden vehicles, metalwork, ceramics, animals, and changing lake levels illuminate households, mobility, craft, commemoration, and regional connections.
Bronze-Iron Age settlement, burial, transport, craft, lake-landscape, and preservation context
Mainly second-first millennia BCE, within a longer settlement history
Settlement and cemetery excavation, wooden vehicles, metalwork, ceramics, human and animal remains, lake-level change, typology, dating, and museum research
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Lchashen archaeological site near Lake Sevan; a settlement and cemetery orientation point, not an ethnic capital or territorial boundary
- Language family
- Unknown from most archaeological phases; later inscriptions require separate contextual study
M
Northwestern Caucasus and adjacent piedmont
Maykop / Майкоп archaeological contexts
Rich burials, metalwork, vessels, ornaments, settlement evidence, and long-distance materials reveal inequality, craft, exchange, and political display north of the Caucasus without documenting a unified Maykop nation.
Chalcolithic-Early Bronze Age archaeological-classification, burial, inequality, craft, and exchange context
Approximately 3700-3000 BCE, with regional chronological debate
Kurgan excavation, settlement archaeology, grave architecture, metalwork, ceramics, ornaments, materials analysis, radiocarbon dating, and regional comparison
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Oshad kurgan find context near Maykop; an elite burial orientation point, not a tribal capital or territorial boundary
- Language family
- Unknown; proposed language associations remain hypotheses rather than established identity
M
Ararat Plain and Armenian Highlands
Metsamor / Մեծամոր
Fortifications, domestic areas, furnaces, metal production, cemeteries, inscriptions, and imported materials illuminate changing settlement, craft, inequality, and connections in the Ararat Plain.
Bronze-Iron Age settlement, fortification, metallurgy, cemetery, and interpretation-history context
Approximately fourth millennium BCE through medieval phases, with emphasis on second-first millennia BCE
Settlement stratigraphy, fortifications, furnaces, slag, metal objects, ceramics, cemeteries, inscriptions, radiocarbon dating, archaeoastronomical proposals, and conservation
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Metsamor settlement and museum-reserve; a multi-period archaeological reference, not an ethnic capital or territorial boundary
- Language family
- Not assignable for most phases from material evidence alone
S
Western Caspian shore and eastern North Caucasus corridor
Darband / Derbent / Дербент
Stone walls, citadel, urban fabric, inscriptions, water systems, roads, and material remains illuminate fortification, labor, taxation, military movement, trade, religion, and local life in a strategic corridor.
Sasanian-late antique fortification, urban, military, corridor, labor, and multilingual context
Principal stone fortification in the sixth century CE, within earlier and later urban histories
Fortification archaeology, masonry, inscriptions, urban stratigraphy, water systems, ceramics, coins, landscape study, and attributed Persian, Armenian, Arabic, and other texts
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Naryn-Kala citadel and Derbent walls; a fortified corridor and city, not a modern border or ethnic boundary
- Language family
- Multilingual corridor; no single language family defines every resident or political allegiance
S
Kura and Araxes lowlands of the southern Caucasus
Shulaveris Gora / შულავერის გორა
Mudbrick buildings, plant and animal remains, tools, storage, pottery, and residue evidence illuminate early farming communities and varied connections in southern Caucasus lowlands.
Neolithic archaeological-classification, farming, household, craft, and regional-network context
Approximately sixth millennium BCE, with site-specific chronologies
Settlement stratigraphy, circular mudbrick architecture, botanical and faunal remains, pottery, stone and bone tools, radiocarbon dating, residues, and regional comparison
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Shulaveris Gora settlement mound; an orientation site within a wider archaeological distribution, not an ethnic capital or territorial boundary
- Language family
- Unknown from archaeological evidence
T
Trialeti plateau and southern Caucasus highlands
Trialeti / თრიალეთი
Large burial mounds, wheeled transport, vessels, ornaments, weapons, feasting evidence, and regional materials illuminate inequality, ceremonial labor, mobility, and exchange in the Middle Bronze Age.
Middle Bronze Age burial, inequality, ritual, mobility, and interregional-network context
Approximately early-second millennium BCE, with local chronological variation
Kurgan architecture, human remains, vehicles, metalwork, ceramics, precious materials, faunal remains, radiocarbon dating, and regional comparison
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Trialeti and Tsalka plateau burial landscapes; a regional orientation point, not a capital or ethnic boundary
- Language family
- Unknown; proposed linguistic connections remain hypotheses
U
Armenian Highlands, Lake Van basin, and Ararat Plain
Biainili / Urartu; Erebuni / Էրեբունի
Erebuni's inscriptions, architecture, storage, painted spaces, objects, and Ararat Plain setting illuminate a royal foundation within a changing highland kingdom built through warfare, labor, agriculture, deportation, and local communities.
Iron Age kingdom, royal-foundation, inscriptional, agricultural, military, and community context
Approximately ninth-sixth centuries BCE
Fortresses, settlements, cuneiform inscriptions, architecture, storage facilities, canals, ceramics, metalwork, burials, environmental evidence, and external texts
- Reference site or archaeological context
- Erebuni fortress and museum; a royal foundation in the Ararat Plain, not the kingdom's only center or a boundary of one people
- Language family
- Urartian is Hurro-Urartian; this does not assign every subject one language or modern identity
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