Sakdrisi ( ka, საყდრისი), also known as the Sakdrisi-Kachagiani site (საყდრისი-ყაჩაღიანი), is a
gold mine Gold Mine may refer to:
* Gold Mine (board game)
*Gold Mine (Long Beach), an arena
*"Gold Mine", a song by Joyner Lucas from the 2020 album ''ADHD
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characteri ...
and an
archaeological site
An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...
, containing a prehistoric mine, in
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, in the south of the country's
Kvemo Kartli
Kvemo Kartli ( ka, ქვემო ქართლი, az, Aşağı Kartli) or "Lower Kartli", is a historic province and current administrative region ( mkhare) in southeastern Georgia. The city of Rustavi is the regional capital.
Location
K ...
region, located between the
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...
site of
Arukhlo and the
Paleolithic
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός '' palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...
site of
Dmanisi.
From 2004 to 2011, a group of Georgian and German scientists carried out large-scale investigations and dated the site to the early 3rd millennium BC or to the second half of the 4th millennium, suggesting that Sakdrisi might be one of the world's oldest known gold mines. In 2013, the government of Georgia deprived the site of a
cultural monument
A national heritage site is a heritage site having a value that has been registered by a governmental agency as being of national importance to the cultural heritage or history of that country. Usually such sites are listed in a heritage regist ...
status, which had been conferred on it in 2006, and gave permission to the mining company
RMG to extract gold in the wider area where Sakdrisi is located, sparking protests from academics and preservationists.
[ RMG launched its works until December 2014, leading to more protests from the political opposition parties and preservationists. It was also condemned by the ]Georgian Orthodox Church
The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonly ...
and disapproved by President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
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Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Giorgi Margvelashvili
Giorgi Margvelashvili ( ka, გიორგი მარგველაშვილი; born 4 September 1969) is a Georgian academic and politician who was the fourth President of Georgia, in office from 17 November 2013 to 16 December 2018.
...
, but defended by Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
Irakli Garibashvili
Irakli Garibashvili ( ka, ირაკლი ღარიბაშვილი, also transliterated as Gharibashvili; born 28 June 1982) is a Georgian politician and a former business executive who serves as the prime minister of Georgia since 2 ...
. On 25 December 2014, the Parliament of Georgia
The Parliament of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს პარლამენტი, tr) is the supreme national legislature of Georgia. It is a unicameral parliament, currently consisting of 150 members; of these, 120 are proporti ...
approved a proposal to establish an ad hoc investigative parliamentary commission to probe into the developments around Sakdrisi, but, on 4 March 2015, the ruling Georgian Dream
Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia ( ka, ქართული ოცნება – დემოკრატიული საქართველო, ''Kartuli ocneba – Demok’rat’iuli Sakartvelo'') is a social democratic political ...
coalition blocked the probe by refusing to vote for a composition of the commission.
The archaeological findings from Sakdrisi now are displayed in the Bolnisi Museum.
References
Prehistoric sites in Georgia (country)
Buildings and structures in Kvemo Kartli
Gold mines in Georgia (country)
Prehistoric mines
Political controversies in Georgia (country)
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