Current work site: Maykop District (Adygea)
Head of expedition: Sergey Ostashinsky
The Expedition was established in 2006 and studies primarily the Eneolithic and Early Bronze settlements in the Northwest Caucasus. The 2007–2010 excavations were conducted in the foothill areas of the Adygea Republic on the fortified settlement of Meshoko dating from the late 5th–early 4th millennium BC. Since 2011, works have proceeded on the rock ledge of the Meshoko Brook comprising Late Eneolithic and Maykop deposits originating in the 4th millennium BC.
The period from the late 5th until the late 4th c. BC is of great importance for the history of the Northern Caucasus and the surrounding areas. Its beginning is marked by the emergence of objects related to the so-called Trans-Kuban culture (stroke and “pearl”-ornamented pottery). The culture is associated with the first reliable evidence of land cultivation, cattle farming and metal processing in the Northwest Caucasus. In the middle of the 4th millennium BC, the Trans-Kuban gives way to the Maykop culture, ushering in the Early Bronze Age. The origins of the Maykop complex are associated with North Mesopotamia and East Anatolia. Under their influence, the North Caucasus achieves unprecedented heights in metal processing and pottery production and develops a more complex societal structure. The intensive cultural growth can be illustrated by the finds from the “royal” tombs in Maykop and Novosvobodnaya which were found to contain real masterpieces of ancient jewellery (now exhibited in the Hermitage’s Jewellery Gallery). At this time the Caucasus becomes a bridge linking the civilizations of the Near East with ancient Eastern European cultures. The impact of the Caucasus on these cultures can be traced throughout the 3rd millennium BC.
Heads of Expedition: Yu.Yu. Piotrovsky (2006–2010), S.M. Ostashinsky (since 2011).
