Areni-1 Cave

Before our ancestors began to fi re pottery or smelt metals, they made hats, garments, containers, bags, floor coverings and clothing by twisting and weaving plant and animal fiber. Due to the poor preservation of organic material in most archaeological sites, archaeologists rarely have the opportunity to study both the tools used for weaving and the woven material itself. Areni-1 cave in the Arpa River Valley (southern Armenia) has a unique microclimate which facilitated the desiccation of organic remains including fragments of baskets and textiles.

Six trenches are currently being excavated at Areni-1. Trenches 1, 2 and 3 have produced woven material dating to the Late Chalcolithic sequence. Trench 1 is located in the main or fi rst gallery inside the cave and contains artifacts and features that are clearly related to funerary ritual including human remains and wine making paraphernalia dating to 4,000–3,800 Cal BC (Barnard et al. 2011; Areshian et al. 2012; Wilkinson et al. 2012). Trench 2 is adjacent to Trench 1 and has produced pots containing cremations, as well as isolated human remains recovered from loci between the pots. Trench 3 is located outside the cave and the main entrance to the fi rst gallery, under the overhang of the cave. This trench has Medieval dwellings cutting into at least three Late Chalcolithic occupational phases designated as Chalcolithic Horizons I – III (4,300–3,400 Cal BC). Of the three horizons, the fi rst tends to be most truncated; it is present only within the limits of Trench 3 and was damaged by an Early Medieval (7th–9th centuries) house or hut and by High Medieval (11th–13th centuries) storage pits and ovens. Horizon I is represented by strengthened and repeatedly rebuilt dirt fl oors with household pits and jar burials under them and dates to the final phase of the Late Chalcolithic (3,700–3,400 Cal BC). Chalcolithic Horizon II occupies a more extensive area. It begins in Trench 3, outside the entrance to the first gallery. Horizon II underlies Horizon I but is separated from it by a layer of zoogenic humus (dung). It extends into the cave, to the rear part of the fi rst gallery and across to the limits of Trenches 1 and 2. In Trench 3 Horizon II is also characterized by strengthened and repeatedly finished floors and includes wooden constructs or buildings and large, unfi red bins. A set of radiocarbon dates from Horizon II provides an absolute time range between 4,000–3,800 Cal BC, which places it in the middle phase of the Late Chalcolithic. The third Chalcolithic Horizon encompasses a rather small area and appears in multiple locales underlying Horizon II in Trench 3 and also inside the fi rst gallery, within the limits of Trenches 1 and 2. Traces of plastered fl oors and partially destroyed stone constructs (damaged by intrusive bins dug during the time of occupation of Horizon II) are recorded in Trench 3. Radiocarbon dates for this Horizon range between 4,300–4,000 Cal BC placing them in the early phase of the Late Chalcolithic.