Before there were the thermae. A few words on the remains of the earliest buildings in the Apsaros fort (Gonio, Georgia)
Journal Title: Pro Georgia. Journal of Kartvelological Studies - Year 2018, Vol 0, Issue 28
Abstract
In the 2017 season, the Polish-Georgian Archaeological Expedition to Gonio-Apsaros continued to conduct its excavations within the Roman fort in the vicinity of the thermae dated to the second half of the 1st and the fi rst half of the 2nd centuries. South of the room with the mosaic fl oor, stone stairs consisting of three steps were discovered, leading more or less to the level of the mosaic fl oor from a much lower utility level. A series of sondages done near the wall west of the aforementioned room have confi rmed that originally the wall was fortifi ed with four external buttresses. In addition, a ventilation hole has been preserved in the wall, which had been secondarily blinded using an irregularlyshaped stone. In various parts of the wall at the same height of the just mentioned hole, it is possible to observe stones that are the remains of the face of the earlier wall. A few preserved rows of such stones became part of the later foundations of the thermae. The listed details indicate that another building had previously occupied the spot later taken up by the baths. Based on the discovered architectural remains, it can be determined that this structure was a granary (horreum). The building was used for storing grain; thus, it must have had a fl oor located above ground level and well-ventilated from below. As a result, it was necessary for there to be stairs and ventilation holes. The buttresses fortifi ed the walls of the storage facility, adapted for the purposes of keeping large amounts of grain.
Authors and Affiliations
Radosław Karasiewicz-Szczypiorski, Sulkhan Mamuladze
Keywords
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