Georgia: The second stage of infrastructural work of the project designed to protect and develop the archaeological zone has been completed in the municipality of Marneuli, on a mountain where the oldest wine traces in the world have been found.
In particular, the foundations were laid for the pillars of the cladding construction; a metal farm-type cladding structure was installed on the columns with polycarb Onat tiles, and on metal construction – hanging pandas with swearing And railing; internal and external electrical wiring installed so archaeological site viewing, environment and landscape understanding is now possible through the pedestrian ramp that is suspended on the farms.
For the infrastructural work on the mountain, funded by the state budget, the Agency of Cultural Heritage has allocated 2 110 212 GEL from the budget of the Cultural Heritage Agency for the year 2023 – 2018.
The company that won the tender, LLC ” New Construction, ” led the infrastructure works on the cut hill.
The archaeological zone of Gori and the inhabited land is represented as debris, which was washed away by wind and rain after the discovery. Therefore, in 2022, with the funding of the Ministry of Culture and the Agency for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Georgia, the organization of Cultural Heritage of SSP started to prepare the infrastructure so that the monument will be protected and the visitors can see the place, where it was found as a vine, rising. E is for wine, The oldest footprint in the world.
For information: Archaeological excavations on the site started in 2013 with the promotion of the National Wine Agency of Georgia. Professor Mindia Jalabadze led the expedition. Since 2014, the work has become more large-scale.
In 2015, a clay vessel was discovered. The National Wine Agency of Georgia sent it to Philadelphia University for analysis, where it was found that there were 8,000-year-old wine residues. In 2017, this archaeological discovery was named among the ten most important discoveries in the world. It reveals a rich history, which presents Georgia as the cradle of wine.
It is meaningful that in 2021, when the Ministry of Culture was formed as a separate organization, Minister Thea Tsulukiani visited the residence with the then Minister of Environment and Agriculture, Levan Davitashvili. Through the mediation of Levan Davitashvili and the promotion of Marneuli Municipality, the territory was handed over to the National Agency for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Georgia. As natural phenomena threatened the area, the Ministry of Culture has allocated appropriate funds and taken measures to protect it.
On February 22, 2024, Georgian Minister of Culture and Sports Thea Tsulukiani, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Levan Davitashvili, Minister of Environment and Agriculture Otar Shamugia, and representatives of the local municipality got acquainted with the infrastructural works of Gori archaeological complex in Imiri village of Marneuli municipality.
The archaeological expedition supports the National Wine Agency of Georgia and the University of Toronto (Canada). To facilitate the area, the next phase of infrastructure works is planned.
Cut Hill will be an open-air museum and an educational-scientific zone where archaeological excavations will continue.
