Workers upgrading Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi uncovered a cache of pottery fragments, jugs and shards about 20 feet below the capital’s main boulevard.
The finds appear to date to the 10th and 11th centuries, when Tbilisi was under Arab rule and functioned as a key Silk Road trading stop.
Archaeologists are now examining the decorated pieces and plan 3D scanning to pin down their age more precisely, underscoring Tbilisi’s long role as a multicultural regional hub.
What ancient Silk Road secrets are hidden within the newly unearthed 1,000-year-old pottery workshop beneath Tbilisi’s busiest street?
Will Tbilisi’s modern infrastructure project accidentally destroy the very ancient Silk Road legacy it just uncovered 20 feet underground?
Could the discovery of a massive 2,000-square-meter subterranean labyrinth beneath Tbilisi completely rewrite the history of this medieval trading hub?