Gvarjilas Glde (Georgia)

3D documentation of the Gvarjilas Glde cave and the artifacts came from Prof. S. Krukowski's excavations. Project completed. In 2018 the 3D documentation in the cave was carried out by the team from the 3D Scanners Department of the Institute of Archaeology of the University of Warsaw, using a laser scanner delievered free of charge by Leica Geosystem. The 3D documentation of objects from the research inside the cave and stored in the Georgian National Museum in Tbilisi was performed by the same team using a structural light scanner delievered free of charge by Smarttech company. The remaining documentation and elaboration of the artefacts from the National Museum was conducted by the scientific staff of the Institute of Archaeology of the University of Warsaw: Dr Małgorzata Kot, Dr Michał Przeździecki, Dr Miron Bogacki, and Prof. Karol Szymczak, with the support of the staff of the Georgian National Museum in Tbilisi. The Krukowski Georgian-Polish Interdisciplinary Research Center provided organizational support in this project.


Adaptation of the Gvarjilas Glde cave for tourist activities. Project completed. One of the results of 3D documentation of the cave in the previous years was to undertake design works and then cleaning and construction works in order to make the cave site available for tourist activities, where the first discoveries were made over 100 years ago by Prof. Stefan Krukowski (the first Polish archaeologist conducting excavations in Georgia). The leader of the project of cave site revitalization was a foundation operating in Georgia: Krukowski Georgian-Polish Interdisciplinary Research Center and the funds were obtained thanks to the cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Tbilisi under the programme "Polish Aid".

The cave and the educational path leading to it were ceremonially opened on 28 October 2019. Representatives of the Polish Embassy in Tbilisi participated in the event.

The project was consulted by Assoc. Prof. Radosław Karasiewicz-Szczypiorski and technical assistance from the Krukowski Center in the territory of Georgia was provided by Jacek Hamburg and Daria Szlezyngier.


Printing of unpublished materials from Prof. S. Krukowski research in the Gvarjilas Glde cave (Georgia). Project completed. The 3D documentation of the mentioned cave and the artefacts from the research carried out over 100 years ago on this site were the starting point for the work on the preparation for printing and publishing Prof. S. Krukowski's discoveries. Several Polish and Georgian institutions participated in the collection of materials and the preparation of publications: the State Archaeological Museum in Warsaw and the Institute of Archaeology of the University of Warsaw (publishers), the Georgian National Museum in Tbilisi, the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia, Ilia Chavchavadze Tbilisi State University, Polish Institute in Tbilisi, Krukowski Polish-Georgian Interdisciplinary Research Center, Varia - Foundation of the Faculty of History, University of Warsaw. Technical support was provided, among others, by a Polish company (manufacturer of structural light scanners) Smarttech. The project was also supported by the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Georgia and the financing of editorial works and printing was ensured by a grant from the budget of the Government of the Mazovian Voivodeship.

The project was coordinated on the Polish side by Assoc. P
rof. Radosław Karasiewicz-Szczypiorski and PhD Małgorzata Kot. They were also polish part of editorial board team.