PREHISTORIC MEGALITHS IN THE WESTERN CAUCASUS

Field School and Volunteer Information

Archaeology Field School run by Department of Central Asia and the Caucasus, Institute for Study of Material Culture History, Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint-Petersburg, offers a unique opportunity to work on prehistoric megaliths in the Western Caucasus.
There are two main types of field work opportunities: for-credit field school, and adult volunteer opportunities. In both options, the participants will work as a full member of the team, participate in group activities and tours, and have an opportunity to contribute to the ongoing successes of the project.
The project aims to study, restore, protect and eventually present prehistoric megalithic tombs (dolmens) to the public in their recreated cultural landscape. These Caucasian dolmens were originally built in harmony with the natural landscape and now after approximately 5,000 years, it is our intention to return these monuments to their original condition in their natural and cultural landscape. In 2003 the Project was awarded by the European Archaeological Association with the “European Archaeological Heritage Prize”. In 2007 we’ll concentrate our excavation in two areas. We’ll continue our excavation of giant dolmen in Dzhubga (resort village on the Black sea coast) where previous work in 2006 discovered zoomorphic and anthropomorphic petroglyphs on the wall of dolmen – it is the first time in the Caucasian archaeology!
Our other area will be the north-east of Gelenjik (another resort town on the coast), where last year we uncovered the group of dolmens which have no visible (!?) signs of late disturbing. Prehistoric megalithic architecture and funeral custom will be in focus of the field work.

Location: Dzhubga, Krasnodar area, Russia. The Western Caucasus, Southern slopes, Black Sea coast. The terrain is foothills, forest, and sea coast. http://www.satelliteviews.net/cgi-bin/w.cgi?c=rs&UF=-2905419&UN=-4067530&DG=VAL  http://nona.net/features/map/placedetail.1045262/Dzhubga/  http://www.fallingrain.com/world/RS/38/Dzhubga.html
The August temperature is around 25-35 degrees C and a possibility of rain. Mosquitoes are not a great problem.
The area is at the opposite end of the Caucasus from Chechnya in a politically stable area.
The predominate population is Russian. There is no fighting in this area!

Sites: Giant Dolmen with Petroglyphs in Dzhubga Valley; Group of dolmens in Achibs Valley
Period of Sites: IIIrd – Ist Mill. B.C.
Season dates: August 10, 2009 – September 10, 2009
Application Deadline: May 01, 2009
Minimum length of stay: 2 weeks
Minimum Age: 18
Experience required: no special experience
Skill preferred: photography, drawing, use of topography equipment, GIS
Types of activities: digging, conservation, archaeological GPS-surveying and -mapping, collecting samples for reconstruction of paleoecology, test excavation, re-assembling of ruined dolmens
Program pays for: local commute
Participant pays for: lodging, meals, insurance, tutorial and travel to project
Logistics: Share summer-house rooms, electricity, out-door facilities, 10 min walk to the beach; live in tents for a few
days during survey
Itinerary: Moscow – Krasnodar by plane
Academic credit: Available. Number of credits: 1, Offered by: Institute for Study of Material Culture History, Russian
Academy of Sciences, Saint-Petersburg. A Certificate of Participation is also available.

Affiliation: Department of Central Asia and the Caucasus, Institute for Study of Material Culture History, Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint-Petersburg
Project Director: Dr. Viktor Trifonov, Department of Central Asia and the Caucasus, Institute for Study of Material Culture History, Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint-Petersburg
Contact information: Viktor Trifonov, Dept. of Central Asia and the Caucasus, Inst. for Study of Material Culture History, Russian Academy of Sciences, Dvortsovaya nab., 18, Saint-Petersburg 191186, Russia
Phone: +7 921 911 36 85; Fax: +7 812 5716271  Email: viktor_trifonov@mail.ru

 

Field School & Volunteers Information
Through the Field School students will participate in archaeological excavation and survey in the Western Caucasus at the Bronze Age megalithic sites. Through extensive travel and hands-on work, students will learn all major elements of methodology and analysis currently used in prehistoric archaeology.
The primary goal is to teach practical archaeological skills in a real research environment while gaining an understanding of the material culture of the Western Caucasus throughout various periods of its prehistory. Students will participate in a variety of field techniques and research methodologies including when appropriate: regional and site survey and sampling, geophysical testing and mapping, field excavation, stratigraphic analysis, written, graphic and photographic recording of data and finds, cleaning and conservation of finds, cataloging, and presentation of megalithic sites to public. Field trips to nearby archaeological sites will provide comparative fodder for discussions. The course also provides a valuable opportunity to learn about a foreign country and its contemporary culture while visiting traditional village communities and to gain a unique perspective on the life of the ancients while living in their own landscape.

Application:
Instead of a formal application please just confirm how long and what period (dates) you plan to stay with the team. Please, provide director of the project with your CV.

Visa arrangements:
In order to apply for a visa, you will need to obtain a formal letter of invitation on behalf of Russian Academy of Sciences. To obtain it please provide director of the project with a scanned copy (low resolution) of your passport with photo, name, nationality, date of birth, passport number and supply me with additional information: address, university, employer (if any), position, the city where you plan to obtain visa from the consulates of Russia. Please keep in mind that it is a quite bureaucratic and time-consuming procedure. So, the sooner you send your papers the earlier we can complete arrangements.
You should pay a registration fee ($30) on arriving to the project in cash.
Attention: A formal letter of invitation on behalf of the Russian Academy of Sciences means that you will be eligible to apply for a visa related to "scientific cooperation" (neither tourism nor business);

Travel arrangements:
To join the team you should fly directly to Krasnodar or take plane connection for Krasnodar in Moscow (two or three flights every single day during the summer season). On arriving to Krasnodar you should take a bus for Dzhubga (resort village on the Black Sea coast). Bus schedule is available on inquiry (roughly, once in one o’clock). Contact address during the field season: Health Centre “Dzhubga”, Dzhubga, Tuapsinsly region, Krasnodar area, Russia Phone number for contacts in the field is +7 921 9113685.

Payments:
No payments in advance. Please, contact for details: viktor_trifonov@mail.ru

Health and Safety Requirements:
There are no inoculations required for entry. Tetanus is the only one recommended for health reasons. The project is physically demanding. Please, be prepared to do some hiking in hilly forest area.

Language:
Most students and the staff of the project speak English.

Logistic:
Accommodations. The volunteers will live in share summer-house rooms; out-door facilities; 10 min walk to the beach. Refrigerators will not be available to the volunteers except under special circumstances. There will be electricity (please remember the voltage is 220 and Russian plugs are the same as European plugs). Single beds and bedding will be provided. All team members will live in tents for a few days during field survey.
Daily schedule:
7 - 7:30 breakfast
8 - 13:00 work on site
13:00-14:00 lunch on site
14:00-16:00 work on site
18:30 -19:30 dinner
Sunday is a day off (8:00 -breakfast; 16:00 - dinner: 20:00 -supper).
Attention! August 15th -The Day of Archaeology in Russia.
Food. A cook will prepare all the meals. Volunteers will not be required to do any cooking. The food will be plain but nourishing and plentiful. Unfortunately, we will be unable to provide for any special
diets. All team members will be supplied with bottled drinking water.
Field supplies. Volunteers should bring work clothes suitable for use in hot weather and for occasional rainy days. Sunscreen, a sun hat and insect repellent are recommended, along with a bath towel and any
personal toiletries and medicines you may need. Garden gloves, kneepads and trowels are recommended.

Useful publications & web sites for volunteers to consult:
Bronze Age to New Age // Archaeology, May/June 1999
Hansen S., 1996. Megalitgravene i Kaukasus: er de udlobere af de vesteuropaeiske? // Popular Arkeologi, argang 14, #4
Joussaume, R.1988. Dolmens for the Dead
King C., 2004. The Black Sea: A History. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Markovin V.I., 1993. Der Kurgan Psynako I, Rayon Tuapse im Krasnodar Land (Westkaukasus) // Zeitschrift fur Archaologie. Heft.27
Mohen, J-P., 1993. The World of Megaliths
Trifonov V., 2001. What do we know about Caucasian dolmens for sure? // Caucasian Dolmens and Ancient Civilizations (IV - I mill. BC). Krasnodar
Wilson, K., 2001. Op expeditie in de Kaukasus //Archeobrief, #17 (winter 2001) // Stichting voor de Nederlandse Archeologie
http://members.chello.nl/r.j.triest/  http://megalith.ru/indexrus.shtml  http://whc.unesco.org/sites/900.htm

 

Field program for 2009.
The strategy of this year's fieldwork is to further investigate the “Rastegaev” and “Dzhubga” groups of dolmens and by means of a systematic survey of the Achibs and Dzhubga valleys, to consider the sites within the wider valley environment. This way we hope to build up a pattern of the regional distribution of the dolmen cemeteries, quarries and settlements.
Naturally, our general aims are followed by more specific questions. When, why and how were the Rastegaev and the Dzhubga groups of dolmens built? What did they look like originally? For how long, and in what way, were these complexes in use? What lies behind the differences between the Rastegaev megalithic tombs and the Dzhubga dolmen. We plan to find answers to these questions through the following field activities:
Excavation
Our plan is to continue the excavation of both group of dolmens known as Rastegaev . The excavation of dolmens will contribute new information that will supplement the data already recorded at the site. The resulting comparative analysis of two dolmen cemeteries that are different by type, scale and appearance will allow a data-based discussion of the material and architectural originality of the megalithic cluster of the valley.
First, we will explore the perimeter of the mounds around the dolmens 1 to reveal more of the massive dry walling. By incorporating this season's findings with the results of previous excavations, we will gain a clearer picture of the full structure of each of the dolmens and how they functioned in unity with their burial chambers, courtyards and mounds.
Second, we plan to explore further dolmens which belong to the same group of megalithic tombs (#2, 3) which have no visible signs of recent intrusion. Third, we will continue the excavation of unique dolmen in Dzhubga where in 2006 we discovered zoomorphic and anthropomorphic petroglyphs. It is never happened before in Caucasian archaeology! There are good reasons to believe that the frieze with five images in line was engraved at the same time when the dolmen itself was built. The meaning of the scene is still unclear (mythological story?) but it looks like that both the process of engraving and its result are aspects of funeral custom scenario.
Survey
A systematic surface survey of the Achibs and Dzhubga Valleys will contribute new data and ideas which will give us a better understanding of the spatial relations between elite and ordinary dolmen cemeteries. The survey's larger aim is to study the regional distribution of the dolmen cemeteries, quarries, and settlements. The field survey will include the use of GPS and three-dimensional computer modeling.
Collection of Samples
Three different kinds of samples will be collected during the field season:
a) samples for radiocarbon dating which should give us the possibility of dating the period of time when the dolmen complex was built and when it was functional, b) pollen samples for extrapolating the prehistoric climate and environment during the dolmen building period and, c) sandstone samples for petrographic analysis to identify which quarries provided the materials that were used to build the dolmens and surrounding structures.
Experimental Study
The Caucasian dolmens represent a unique type of prehistoric architecture, built with large, yet precisely dressed stone blocks. For example, the stones were either shaped into 90-degree angles to be used as corners or were curved to make a perfect circle. For better understanding of the building technique and methods of stone treatment, we plan to carry out a study of stone waste products found on the site and in the quarry and prepare a use-wear analysis of the worked blocks. To obtain comparative data, we plan to carry out some experiments, treating the stones at the site and in the quarry by splitting the slabs, dressing them with flint chisels, etc.