Resumen de Mega-fortresses in the South Caucasus: new data from southern Georgia

Nathaniel L. Erb-Satullo, Dimitri Jachvliani, Richard Higham, Kathryn O'Neil Weber Boer, Alex Symons, Ruth Portes

• Recent research on the organisation and growth of large settlements (both urban and non-urban) has prompted a reassessment of factors driving population aggregation. Systematic aerial and ground survey of the South Caucasus mega-fortress Dmanisis Gora, described here, contributes to the understanding of large fortress settlements in the South Caucasus (c. 1500–500 BC) as part of this wider debate. Substantial defensive walls and stone architecture in the outer settlement contrast with low-intensity occupation, possibly by a seasonally mobile segment of the population. The exceptional size of Dmanisis Gora helps add new dimensions to population aggregation models in Eurasia and beyond.