An Attempt to Analyze Ceramic Assemblages and the Function of the Pit from Gudiashvili Square

Gudiashvili Square is located in Kala in the historical part of Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Due to the fact that the square is located inside the old defensive wall of Narikala Fortress, it has a huge archaeological and historical importance. At first this square appears on the Map of Kartli, created by Vakhushti Batonishvili in 1735 and is mentioned with the name of Bezhana Garden. Of particular interest is a pit containing a remarkable assemblage of ceramics, unearthed within a dwelling where only the floor has been preserved. Above this dwelling, a cellar featuring vaulted arches was constructed, believed by art critics to potentially date back to the XVII–XVIII centuries. The pit was excavated under the floor, and it is noteworthy that such pits are typically excavated within the interiors of ceramic workshops, often adjacent to ceramic kilns. For instance, in Kutaisi, four pits were discovered within the workshop interior, yielding a diverse range of ceramic materials that have been dated to the X–XI centuries. In the case of Gudiashvili Square, the dwelling’s interior where the pit was found may have served as a workshop, subsequently destroyed or transformed into a discarded deposit. Both conjectures merit consideration. To shed light on these findings, comparative analysis employing the study of ceramic materials in conjunction with other artifacts from medieval sites in Georgia was conducted, enabling the determination of the pit’s function and its chronological placement.