Apsaros: A Roman Fort on the Colchis Coast

From AD 63/64, when the Roman Empire annexed the kingdom known as Pontus Polemoniacus, up to c. 257 and the invasion of the Borans, the coast of Colchis, in modern-day Georgia, hosted a Roman garrison system that stretched along the south-eastern edge of the Black Sea. One such Roman fort, at the site of Apsaros (Gonio, Georgia) has been the subject of intensive interdisciplinary research, with a focus on exploring the site and its environs to shed new light on the history, chronology, and periodization of the Roman military presence. From the discovery of traces of the presence of four cohorts of the V Macedonian legion through to analysis of the ruins of the garrison commander’s house, which was equipped with private baths and decorated with mosaics, this volume draws together ground-breaking new research to shed new light on Roman Colchis, the garrisons who lived here, and their complicated relations with local tribes.

List of Illustrations
List of Contributors
Preface
Introduction

Chapter 1. The Apsaros Fort Setting

Chapter 2. Materials and Construction Techniques
Wood
Raw Clay (Silty Raw Materials)
Ceramic Building Material
On-site Production vs. Delivery
Usage
Lime and Lime Mortars
Building Stone
Stone Architectural Elements
Sand and Gravel
Iron Mountings
Nails
Clamps
Window Glass
Construction Techniques
Summary

Chapter 3. Local Tribes before the Romans and under Roman Administration
The Heniochi and Macrones in Linguistic Research
Greek and Roman Written Sources
The Heniochi
The Macrones/Machelones
Other Sources
The Heniochi West of the Apsaros River — Result of Migration?
Disappearance of Towns
Sailors and Pirates
King Anchialos
The Heniochi and the Macrones/Machelones: A View through Outsiders’ Eyes
The Tzani: Descendants of the Sanni or Perhaps Arrian’s Heniochi and Macrones?
Summary

Chapter 4. Roman Forts on the Colchis Coast
Roman Military Presence on the Colchis Coast in the First and Second Centuries CE
Roman Forts on the Colchis Coast in the Third Century CE
Individual Fort Chronology
Summary

Chapter 5. The Roman Garrison at Apsaros
Other Cappadocian Army Units at Apsaros in the Second Century ce and First Half of the Third
Summary

Chapter 6. Apsaros outside the Fortifications in the Principate Period
Extent of the Early Fortifications
Settlement Outside the Fort
Cemetery
Roads and Fords
Harbour and Water Transport
Aqueducts
Brickyard
Stone Quarries
Other Structures and Buildings near the Fort
Alleged Watchtower Network
Local Settlement in the General Area of the Fort
Settlement in the Immediate Vicinity of the Apsaros Fort
Summary

Chapter 7. The Roman Fort during the Principate Period
The Fort during the Neronian Period (Phase 1)
Granary (horreum)
Building South of the Granary
The Fort during Trajan’s Reign (Phase 2)
Headquarters (principia)
Garrison Bath House (balneum)
Area South of the Garrison Bath House
The Fort during Hadrian’s Reign (Phase 3)
Headquarters (principia)
New Garrison Bath House (balneum)
Commander’s House (praetorium)
The Fort in the Second Half of the Second Century and Beginning of the Third (Phases 4 and 5)
Summary

Chapter 8. The Mosaic Floors from the Roman Commander’s Residence: By Special Order of L. Flavius Arrianus?
Radosław Karasiewicz-Szczypiorski and Natalia Alexandria Lockley

Mosaic Floors from the Region
Mosaic Floors from Apsaros (Gonio)
State of Preservation
Iconography and Colouring
Workshop
Dating and Room Function
Parallels
Made on Special Order? Interpretation of the Mosaic Floors from the Commander’s Residence at Apsaros
Summary

Chapter 9. The Fort and its Vicinity in the Late Roman Period
Summary

Chapter 10. The Roman Fort at Apsaros and the Roman Military Presence on the Colchis Coast: Bringing the Evidence Together
The Setting: Environmental and Political
Fort History: Rise and Decline
Fort Architecture: Plan and Development
The Commander’s House (praetorium): Built on Special Order?
The Garrison
Relations of the Hinterland with the Garrison: Logistics and Borderland Security
Shifting Local Power Centres
The Missing extra muros Temple
Apsaros and the Roman Military Presence on the Colchis Coast

Appendix 1. The Roman Fort of Apsaros in Gonio Village: A Brief History of Investigations
Emzar Kakhidze and Radosław Karasiewicz‑Szczypiorski

Appendix 2. Beyond the Walls: Assessment of the Main Results of Archaeological Excavations Outside the Apsaros Fort
Shota Mamuladze †, Kakhaber Kamadadze, and Tatuli Motskobili

Appendix 3. Apsarus in Greek and Latin Geographical Sources from Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages
Tomasz Płociennik

Appendix 4. Engraved Gems from the Roman Fort in Apsaros (Gonio) and the Makho Cemetery
Paweł Gołyźniak and Shota Mamuladze †

Appendix 5. Ceramic Building Materials at the Roman Fort in Apsaros (Gonio): Local/Regional Products or Longdistance Imports?
Małgorzata Daszkiewicz

Figures

Works Cited