View archaeologists uncover traces of Bronze Age gold workshops in a cemetery near Tbilisi, Georgia

Watch archaeologists uncover traces of a Bronze Age metallurgical workshop in Georgia.
Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz
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The first traces of the past: ceramic and pots - probably burial offerings. But there are no gold objects. They find scattered bones, the teeth of the dead. Their DNA could provide important information. Then they make a crucial discovery in the dust. It is microscopically small. There are traces of gold in the sand. This could be the initial evidence that gold ore from the Sakdrissi gold mine was processed here.
To understand why people of the Bronze Age settled here, of all places, archaeologist Thomas Stöllner examines the legendary land of gold from the air. The view from above quickly answers the question. The area was easy for the inhabitants to guard and could be easily defended from potential attackers. Back on the ground, with the help of a ground-penetrating radar the research team is able to perform a digital excavation. As they'd hoped, the apparatus locates streets, canals and walls below the earth's surface. The readings suggest that there was once a settlement here that extended over about 60 hectares and could have had a population of 2,000-3,000 inhabitants.