Trialeti

an archaeological site in Georgia located to the south of the Trialeti Mountains on the Tsalka Plateau and dating from the late Paleolithic to the early Middle Ages. It was excavated in 1936–40 and 1947 by expeditions of the State Museum of Georgia directed by B. A. Kuftin.

Of particular interest at Trialeti were the finds from the Trialet culture of the Middle Bronze Age (the beginning of the second millennium B.C.), which included elaborate burials in large burial mounds. There were mounds with and without burial pits and mounds located in burial rooms. The remains of the deceased were placed in the center of the mound, sometimes in a chariot. Large glazed earthenware vessels with incised and painted decorations were placed along the walls. Many beautifully ornamented objects made of precious metals testify to the artistry of the local craftsmen and to relations with Southwest Asia and Asia Minor. Two items of particular interest were a gold goblet and a silver goblet. The silver goblet was decorated with two applied friezes, the lower frieze depicting a row of deer, and the upper frieze, a complicated ritual scene.

Relics from the Trialet culture are found throughout most of Eastern Georgia and in the adjacent region of Armenia. The burial mounds were for the aristocracy and the tribal leaders. The finds in these mounds testify to the early disintegration of the primitive communal relationships in the tribes of Transcaucasia during the second millennium B.C.