was thrown in haphazardly, a deliberate depositional sequence is often detectable, with specific items alternating with layers of ash.At times, this division is absolutely clear.

It is reasonable to suggest, then, that pit digging and filling was part of Bedeni ritual behaviour, and not simply meant to dispose of rubbish – material that is discarded because it has little use, cannot be recycled, or has the potential to be a hazard.There are two basic approaches to the study of refuse and pits. One conforms to a functionalist perspective and views it as part of discard behaviour – pits are the repositories of refuse.55 Another, more recent, approach maintains that certain objects, once they leave the household domain, may still carry meaning for the living community.These objects do not conform to our Western notions of ‘rubbish’ (unwanted waste), but are disposed of in a structured and purposeful manner.56 Essentially, this approach moves away from modern perceptions of rubbish as a material category that is totally separated from the social processes of the living. It also calls into question the distinction that is often made by archaeologists between ‘secular’ and ‘sacred’, and ‘practical’ and ‘ritual’, arguing that in certain societies these distinctions are meaningless.57

Other Bedeni Villages

Further evidence of village life is afforded by Tsikhiagora Level A, which lies above the Kura-Araxes deposit (Level B), but is separated from it by a thin sterile layer.58 Both levels belong to the lowest deposit (Period I).Tsikhiagora is also pitted. Thirteen bell-shaped pits show clear and intentional layering of ash and cultural debris, like the pits at Berikldeebi. Up to 70 per cent of the pottery fragments found in the pits belong to the Kura-Araxes tradition, but the rest clearly belong to the Bedeni period (see following discussion). The Kura-Araxes material is distinguished by elaborately incised and applied designs of tendrils and geometric motifs typical of the late period, whereas the Bedeni fragments are thin-walled, highly black burnished and ornamented with comb-stamped motifs and occasional fluting.

Badaani has a novel layout and features. Two of its sides were fl anked by ditches, which according to the excavator, Guram Mirtskhulava, were defensive in function, protecting those areas that did not overlook deep gorges.59 One ditch was large, measuring 4 m across and about 3.8 m deep, whereas the other was smaller (2 m wide and 1 m deep) and may also have been used for irrigation. Badaani was a wattle-and-daub village. Five rectangular buildings,

57Brück 1999.

58Makharadze 1994.

59Mirtskhulava 2011.