Pichvnari – Colchian Submerged Settlement near Kobuleti
Pichvnari · Pichvnari-Kobuleti · Kobuleti Colchian · Cholchis
Colchian Early Iron to Hellenistic (c. 6th – 2nd c. BCE)·Colchian / East Greek Milesian·🇬🇪 Adjara, Kobuleti dunes, Choloki–Kintrishi mouth, Georgia
About
About Pichvnari – Colchian Submerged Settlement near Kobuleti
Colchian Early Iron settlement and Greek emporion at Pichvnari dunes south of Kobuleti: 5th c. BCE Colchian village with massive burial mound cemetery (over 300 graves) overlays earlier 5th-century Greek amphorae habitations. Dune-front Greek quay timbers –1 to –3 m and Colchian wattle hut floors now in surf after coastal retreat 120 m since Colchian period, mapped 1998–2009 joint British–Georgian expedition (Kakhidze & Vickers). Colchian–Greek trade pottery includes East Greek, Sinope, and local Colchian black-polished forms of Jason and Medea mythland, linking to Phasis upstream 40 km.
Why it mattersLargest Colchian coastal cemetery exposing Iron Age Colchian–Greek exchange at Jason myth coast 40 km south of Phasis; dune retreat quantifies Colchian sea-level and littoral drift.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Was quay seasonal vs year-round — Sinope amphora seasonality
- 02Relation Pichvnari cemetery vs Phasis necropolis uniformity
Theories
- 01Colchian black-polished pottery kiln wasters 200 m inland prove local manufacture vs imported Greek only
- 02Greek amphora proportion doubles after 450 BCE — Greek contact intensification dating to Persian withdrawal
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 6th c. BCE Colchian hut village; 5th c. BCE Greek emporion contact
- Period
- Colchian Early Iron to Hellenistic (c. 6th – 2nd c. BCE)
- Culture
- Colchian / East Greek Milesian
- Purpose
- Colchian iron and timber emporion feeding Sinope–Colchis trade
- Abandoned
- 2nd c. BCE abandonment after Mithridate Phasis centralisation
- Rediscovered
- 1998 British-Georgian Pichvnari dunes excavation
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
6th c. BCE
Colchian village founded on Kobuleti dunes near Choloki mouth
5th c. BCE
Greek emporion ceramics – East Greek amphorae appear
5th–3rd c. BCE
Massive tumulus cemetery of 300+ graves, Colchian black-polished pottery
1998
Vickers–Kakhidze dunes mapped Greek quay timbers at –2 m
2009
Batumi museum publishes dune retreat 120 m since Colchian
On the ground
Structures & features
41.8605° N · 41.7858° E · -2 m · 3 mapped features
Pichvnari dune quay timbers
harbourQuay pile 40 m at –2 m on Kobuleti surf
41.8605° N · 41.7858° ECemetery mound field
cemetery300-grave tumulus field 80 m inland
41.8615° N · 41.7840° EColchian hut floor layer
settlementWattle floor horizon in dunes
41.8600° N · 41.7860° E