44The opening of the exhibition Georgian Archaeology from the 8th Millennium BC till the 4th Century AD took place in the end of 2013 at the Simon Janashia Museum of Georgia of the Georgian National Museum, and tens of thousands of people have already visited it.

The public was waiting for the renewed archaeological exhibition with a particular interest: because of the rehabilitation works at the Georgian National Museum, this exhibition, which was functioning in 1961-2005 paying tribute to the very ancient Georgian culture revealed by archaeological eld works, had to be temporarily dismantled. Apart from that, the archaeological collection, which represents one of the biggest collections in the museum, was permanently enriched with new items.

Presenting the archaeological materials found in Georgia during the last 50 years for the rst time, the new exhibition, amid older exhibits, demonstrates the continuous line of development of the Georgian culture since the Neolithic Period until Late Antiquity. Numerous archaeological nds from that lengthy period, covering a stretch between the 8th millennium BC and the 4th century AD, are not only displayed in chronological order, but also arranged according to several themes and the speci c cultures that have emerged during that period of time. In each section, together with famed items, visitors will be able to see the recently discovered artifacts. Among them, one has to mention the discoveries made at the Sakdrisi gold mine and its neighboring Balichi-Dzedzvebi site, both located in Kvemo Kartli, South-East Georgia: stone tools used to extract gold, as well as ceramics, found in the mines dating back to the Early Bronze Age and characteristic of the Kura-Araxes culture,

show that gold was actually mined there during the end of the 4th millennium BC and the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC, making Sakdrisi the oldest gold mine in the world. There are also some golden personal ornaments, a unique necklace made of amber beads, and other precious items found in the majestic barrows (tumuli) of the Tchabukiani village in Kakheti in 2012, which are dated back to the 3rd millennium BC. Other interesting discoveries can be found among the miscellaneous archaeological materials, dating from the 2nd1st millennia BC, unearthed in Tsalka during the installation of an oil pipeline by BP (British Petroleum), as well as the temple inventory, found in the shape of a hoard in Vani a religious centre of Colchis. The hoard contains unique pieces of Hellenistic art.

The exhibition also displays the Bronze Torso of a Youth discovered in Vani, acknowledged as one of the masterpieces of the so-called classicistic sculpture of the Hellenistic period.

Naturally, the exhibition ends with the archaeological materials found on the territory of the modern capital, which con rm the idea of uninterrupted life and activity in the region from the Eneolithic Period until the Late Antiquity. Because of its particular geographical location, this territory represented cross roads between Eurasian cultures, which has played an important part in the formation of a uni ed Georgian culture.

The exhibits, displayed in old show-cases restored according to museum standards and presented in a new arrangement and dcor, symbolize the link between the new, the old, and the contemporary, an idea which archaeology itself complies with.

Renewed Permanent Exhibition of Georgian Archaeology

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Torso of a youth. Bronze. 2nd century BC. Vani.

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Gold ornaments and necklaces made of amber, carnelian and rock crystal beads from the tumulus of Tchabukiani.3rd millennium BC.

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