Akaki Chanturia ( ka, აკაკი ჭანტურია, 1881 – 11 May 1949) was a Georgian scientist,

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

and

ethnographer Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...

. Educated primarily in England, where he lived from 1904 to 1920, Chanturia returned to his native

Samegrelo Mingrelia ( ka, სამეგრელო, tr; xmf, სამარგალო, samargalo; ab, Агырны, Agirni) is a historic province in the western part of Georgia, formerly known as Odishi. It is primarily inhabited by the Mingrelians ...

to established the Dadiani Palaces Museum in

Zugdidi Zugdidi ( ka, ზუგდიდი; xmf, ზუგდიდი or ზუგიდი) is a city in the western Georgian historical province of Samegrelo (Mingrelia). It is situated in the north-west of that province. The city is located 318 kilom ...

Early life and education in England

Born in 1881, Chanturia attended a religious school in

Senaki Senaki ( ka, სენაკი; xmf, სანაკი) is a town in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region, western Georgia. It is located at around between the rivers Tekhura/i and Tsivi, at an elevation of 28–38 meters above sea level. Senaki is ...

, a small town in

. He could have entered the

Tbilisi Theological Seminary Tbilisi Theological Seminary ( ka, თბილისის სასულიერო სემინარია; russian: Тбили́сская духо́вная семина́рия) is a spiritual training institution, which operated from ...

, but instead decided to pursue his studies abroad. To achieve that goal, he moved to

Batumi Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ) is the second largest city of Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast of the Black Sea in Georgia's southwest. It is situated in a subtropical zone at the foot of th ...

to work at the

Rothschild Rothschild () is a name derived from the German ''zum rothen Schild'' (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "with the red sign", in reference to the houses where these family members lived or had lived. At the time, houses were designated by signs ...

factory, where he learned English and saved his pay to finance a trip to England. Chanturia moved to London in 1904, where he worked as a private teacher of

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

. At the same time he enrolled at university in the faculty of

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

. He also studied

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

cartography Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...

ethnography Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...

museology Museology or museum studies is the study of museums. It explores the history of museums and their role in society, as well as the activities they engage in, including curating, preservation, public programming, and education. Terminology The w ...

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and writing, written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defin ...

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

and

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

, and took part in scientific and artistic visits and excursions organised by the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. Chanturia returned briefly to Georgia in 1912, where he collected a large amount of geological and paleontological material in Samegrelo. He used this material to complete his thesis, ''Geology of Georgia'', published in 1919. Upon returning to England in 1913, he studied at King's College, where he received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

, and at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...

Return to Georgia

Chanturia returned to Georgia permanently in 1920, and settled in Senaki with his wife, an Englishwoman named Kate Walter Ball, whom he taught

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

and

Mingrelian Mingrelian may refer to: *the Mingrelians *the Mingrelian language Mingrelian or Megrelian (, ) is a Kartvelian language spoken in Western Georgia (regions of Mingrelia and Abkhazia), primarily by the Mingrelians. The language was also called ...

. He often travelled to

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

to work at the newly established

Tbilisi State University Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University ( ka, ივანე ჯავახიშვილის სახელობის თბილისის სახელმწიფო უნივერსიტეტი ''Ivane Javaxishvi ...

, and at various museums and libraries. He declined an offer to work for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as his main goal was now the establishment of a museum in Samegrelo. This museum opened on 1 May 1921 in the

Dadiani Palace Dadiani Palaces History and Architectural Museum ( ka, დადიანების სასახლეთა ისტორიულ-არქიტექტურული მუზეუმი) is a Georgian national museum located in Zugd ...

. Objects from the other mansions of the Dadiani family, and of the private collection of Prince Achille Murat-Dadiani, were transferred to the newly created museum. From 1937, Chanturia was persecuted by the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

authorities. In 1940, he was dismissed from the museum he had created. He died in Zugdidi on May 11, 1949.

References

Biography in Georgian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chanturia, Akaki 1881 births 1949 deaths Archaeologists from Georgia (country) Tbilisi State University faculty People from Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti 20th-century archaeologists