A team of international researchers at the Grakliani Hill archaeological site in Georgia has unearthed a cache of remarkably preserved drinking vessels crafted from bovid horns and rimmed with ornate bronze bands. Dated to approximately 1000 BCE, these artifacts were found within a specialized "festival chamber" that also contained large storage pithoi used for fermenting grape juice.
Experts believe these drinking horns were essential components of the "Ritual of the First Pour," an early Caucasian festival dedicated to the deity of agriculture. The discovery indicates that communal wine festivals played a vital role in social cohesion and political diplomacy among early Iron Age tribes in the Caucasus Mountains, serving as a precursor to the region's famed hospitality traditions.