The settlement mound of Tabakoni near the village of Torsa in western Georgia is the site of a joint research project by the Eurasia Department and Sokhumi University in Tbilisi, ongoing since 2011. The aim is to determine the chronology of a Bronze Age culture known as Colchian using stratigraphic observations and radiocarbon dating, and to gather data on the settlement structure.
The round mound of Tabakoni (diameter 45m) rises to a max. of 2.90 m above the surrounding, marshy terrain. Excavations are taking place in six sections of varying size within an area of 112 m² in the central and south-western part of the mound. The find material consists primarily of potsherds. These are joined by worked stones, silex artefacts and clay spindle whorls. Late Bronze Age vessels are characterized by complex incised and broadly striated ornament.
The settlement mound of Tabakoni was occupied, with interruptions, from the end of the 3rd millennium to the mid 1st millennium BC, spanning the entire duration of Colchian Culture.
Location of the excavation sites at Tabakoni (DAI Eurasia Department) 
Wooden constructions in sites A, B, C, D, E, F at a height of 4.20 m above mean sea level (Photo: DAI Eurasia Department) 
Prof. Dr. Joni Apakidze and Dr. Levan Tchabashvili at excavation site F of the Tabakoni settlement mound (Photo: DAI Eurasia Department) 
The settlement mound of Tabakoni during excavations in 2017 (Photo: DAI Eurasia Department)