In the course of the field season, physical anthropologist Francesca Bertoldi analysed the human remains from 10 graves recovered from the salvage excavation by Prof. Gagoshidze at the Doghlauri cemetery. These mostly consisted of fully articulated adult skeletons dating back to the Late Bronze age. The skeletal remains have been recovered paying particular attention to taphonomical data such as: orientation of the grave, position of the body and of the skeletal segments, originary position of the head, relation with the grave goods, contemporary or delayed burial of more than one subject in multiple burials. The samples have been processed through an accurate cleaning with running water, followed by slow drying in the shade, given the nature of the clay soil adhering to them, and then reassembled with water-based glue.
The anthropological and archeological analysis of the human remains and of paleoenvironmental samples from burial contexts consisted of:
-sex and age determination,
-metrical, morphometrical and morphological analysis of cranial and post-cranial bones,
- analysis of discontinuous or discrete traits and of markers of occupational stress,
-paleopathological analysis of bones and teeth,
-sampling of teeth to be evaluated by x-rays for age determination following Cameriere’s method,
-sampling of teeth for stable isotope analysis,
-field sampling of human teeth and bones for DNA analysis,
-field sampling of soil for pollen analysis,
-archaeozoological analysis of animal bones associated with grave goods in the burials (by Veronica Scandellari).
The graves with human remains that have been excavated and analysed from a taphonomical and anthropological perspective are:
- Grave no. 2, dating back to Early Bronze Age (Kura Araxes period);
- Graves nos. 7, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 18, 23 and 33, dating back to the Late Bronze Age.
Human skeletal materials are generally in a bad preservation state, with cortical surfaces of long bones eroded and cracked, epiphyseal surfaces incomplete and in some cases absent (such as in vertebral bodies), dental enamel damaged with enamel defects hardly observable, because of a variety of post-depositional factors.
Age and sex determination gave a sample formed by the following subjects:
| GRAVE | SEX | AGE |
| 2 | F? | 35-45 |
| 2sp | F | mature |
| 2sp | M | young adult |
| 7 | F | 35-45 |
| 10 | M | adult |
| 12 | M | 25-30 |
| 13 | F? | adult |
| 15 | JUV | 15-16 |
| 17 | M | 35-45 |
| 18 | F? | adult |
| 23 | M? | mature |
| 33 | JUV | 14-15 |
The group is formed by 12 subjects (5 males, 5 females and two sub-adults); few children bones discovered in Grave no. 5 have unfortunately not been recovered. Stature estimation values could not be calculated because of the incompleteness of long bones, while preliminary paleopathological data recorded the common presence of dental pathologies and cribra orbitalia.