Jake Hubbert, UCLA and ARISC Fellow
Date: 23 September 2026, 18:30 Tbilisi time / 10:30am US EDT
This week’s session will be held in hybrid in-person at CRRC Georgia and virtually via this Zoom link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/xLvXo6HYTI-qu56Dp0ZJng
Some groups in the South Caucasus are beginning to reevaluate their families’ historic semi-subterranean homes. These homes were a common form of domestic architecture for nearly 500 years. Some suggest these structures originated as a form of self-preservation that camouflaged villages from invading armies, while others suggest they handled cold winters and warm summers better than other architectural styles. These homes have fallen out of use relatively recently, with most residents making the shift in the mid-20th century. Initially, some repurposed their historic homes as stables or barns, while others incorporated elements such as ovens or hearths reminiscent of their subterranean homes into their new constructions. Many were ultimately abandoned as people sought better accommodation elsewhere in the growing villages. Residents in some villages have begun to return to these homes, not to inhabit them again, but with an eye to preserve them. This presentation will discuss these developing trends by assessing the homes across three villages in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region of the Republic of Georgia and how people have begun to change the way they think of them. For example, a family in the village of Chobareti, Georgia, has turned their historic home into a thriving cultural experience. Their successes have influenced others to reconsider their own properties and their various states of preservation. The story of these homes demonstrates how structures and objects change from simple ruins to cultural heritage. This presentation will discuss several of these homes and what locals have done to either preserve or save these structures in the Samtskhe-Javakheti Region of the Republic of Georgia.
Jake Hubbert is a doctoral student in the department of anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles, specializing in archaeology. His research examines how contemporary communities shape concepts of cultural heritage through engagement with archaeological sites and objects, with a particular focus on the Samtskhe-Javakheti region of Georgia. His scholarship addresses a wide range of topics dealing with medieval Caucasian material culture, Islamic influences in Georgia, and the relationships among consumption, identity, and heritage. Hubbert holds an M.A. and B.A. in anthropology from Brigham Young University and has published in Medieval Archaeology and the Journal of Islamic Archaeology. He has taught archaeology, world prehistory, and sociocultural anthropology at several universities.
*************Works-in-Progress is an ongoing academic discussion series based in Tbilisi, Georgia, that takes place at the CRRC office at Chavchavadze Ave. 5 and online. It is co-organized by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC) Georgia, the American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC), and the
Max Weber Foundation’s (MWS) Georgia Branch. All of the talks are free and open to the public.In observation of the spirit of the Chatham House Rule, the talks will not be recorded, and we courteously request that the other participants refrain from recording and/or distributing recordings as well or citing anything expressed therein in the press without explicit permission. The opinions expressed in WiP talks are those of the speakers alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of CRRC, ARISC, or of MWS.