Research eventInternational Conference on Manuscript Cultures in the Caucasus

1 April 2025

Photo: CSMC

Researchers from the CSMC and its partner institutions, the Matenadaran in Yerevan (Armenia) and the Kekelidze Center in Tbilisi (Georgia), came together for a major workshop to discuss their recent work on dating and provenancing manuscripts from the region and their plans for future collaboration.

The ERC project on ‘The Development of Literacy in the Caucasian Territories’ (DeLiCaTe), which has been affiliated with the CSMC since its inauguration in 2022, explores the development of literacy among three distinct ethnic groups in the Caucasus since the early 5th century CE: Armenians, Georgians, and the so-called ‘Caucasian Albanians’. While the former two developed their written heritage steadily until today, the literacy of the ‘Albanians’ ended with the Arab conquest in about the 8th century, and only a few specimens of their language have survived. For Armenian and Georgian, too, only a limited number of original text witnesses have been preserved from the ‘early’ centuries.

Most of the oldest extant written documents of the three languages have survived in palimpsest form. Today, material analysis and AI tools allow for deeper insights into this material than ever before. ‘Manuscript Cultures in the Caucasus’, a major workshop at the CSMC organised by DeLiCaTe project lead Jost Gippert, brought together specialists in the three manuscript cultures as well as experts from material analysis and computer science to discuss the latest advancements in this field, especially when it comes to dating and determining the provenance of the manuscripts. In addition to the researchers from the DeLiCaTe team, experts from the CSMC Mobile Lab and the Visual Manuscript Analysis Lab as well as numerous international guests presented their research at the workshop.

Among the participants was Ara Khzmalyan, head of the Matenadaran (Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts) in Yerevan, Armenia, one of the most important centres for the preservation and study of ancient manuscripts in Armenia and the world. The Matenadaran’s collections include roughly 23,000 manuscripts, including numerous ancient and medieval works on history, philosophy, medicine, art, and religion, in Armenian and other languages.

The Korneli Kekelidze Georgian National Center of Manuscripts was represented by Zura Samarghanishvili. Located in Tbilisi, Georgia, it houses a vast collection of manuscripts and early printed books providing unique insights into the history, culture, and literature of Georgia and the wider Caucasus region. Written in numerous languages and from many numerous cultures, these documents reflect Georgia’s historical position at the crossroads of civilizations.

The CSMC has been cooperating with both institutions since 2021. During this event, plans for future collaboration were discussed. Together, the three institutions are currently planning a major new project together with ETH Zurich and other partners, which involves the material analysis, dating, and provenance of the collections. In particular, the researchers aim to carry out radiocarbon analyses to shed light on crucial points in the history of Armenian and Georgian writing cultures that cannot be determined from colophons, for example regarding the beginning of writing, centres of production inside and outside the Caucasus, and migration routes.