Georgia's claim to be the cradle of winemaking have been strengthened with the discovery of vine residue dating back 8000 years at an archaeological dig.
The excavations, in southeastern Georgia's Kvemo Kartli region, have provided fresh support for the country's claim of being the birthplace of winemaking, according to Georgian news agency Agenda. This week, the Georgian National Museum (GNM) announced grape seeds and vine dust dating back to 6000 BC had been discovered at the Gadachrili Gora archaeological site.
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The area is located near Imiri village, 35 kilometers south of capital Tbilisi, and is the site of an international expedition jointly organized by the GNM and the University of Toronto, Canada.
The GNM announcement said a complex study of vine-dust remains found in ancient ceramic vessels had confirmed they had been used for wine at the Neolithic location. The museum said the study had established the ancient Georgian region as the first location where humans had turned wild vine vegetation into domestic culture.
As well as finding traces of wine, the archaeological dig also uncovered residential buildings, domestic work instruments, vessels and pits at the site, and other discoveries.
Digs at the Gadachrili Gora site have been giving up ancient winemaking artefacts since 2014, when the international project was initiated by the GNM, the Georgian Wine Association and the National Wine Agency of Georgia. Some of the materials uncovered included grape skins and pips inside old qvevri (clay) vessels, as well as vessels that contained dusty remains of cultivated vines that date back to the 6th millennium BC.
"The diversity of the wild and indigenous grape varieties, the unique wine vessel and the oldest technologies of making wine by qvevri all confirm that Georgia is truly an ancient winemaking country," museum director Davit Lortkipanidze said.
According to archaeological studies, the earliest traces of viticulture and wine were found in ancient Neolithic settlements in the neighborhood of Imiri village. The dig has confirmed the theory that that, during the early Neolithic period, people in both eastern and western Georgia were familiar with the culture of wine and wine played an important role in the economic life of the local population.
As well as grape seeds and skins, archaeologists also unearthed the remains of wheat and legumes, agricultural implements and pottery, proving that in the Neolithic period, the human inhabitants of the region were developing agricultural systems.
Findings at the site indicated that ancient people from this area were the first to use wild grapes and vines for health, religious and spiritual reasons, with the vine culture later spreading around the globe.
The project involves scientists from leading universities from the United States, France, Italy, Denmark, Canada and Israel.
