doi: 10.2143/ANES.49.0.2165720 ANES 49 (2012) 61-94 1 The Caucasus is a recurring locus in Greek mythology, including parts of the Argonau- tica and of Zeus’ pursuit of Thetis in the Achilleus cycle. Tuite has also drawn parallels between the Greek goddess Thetis and her warrior son Achilleus and the Caucasian goddess Dael and her heroic son, Amiran: Tuite 1997. Also, see Charachidze 1986, for a detailed comparison of Greek Prometheus and Svanetian Amiran. Power and Presence: Landscape and Tenure in Middle Bronze Age Central Transcaucasia Jessie BIRKETT-REES Classics and Archaeology School of Historical and Philosophical Studies The University of Melbourne Victoria 3010 AUSTRALIA E-mail: jessiebr@unimelb.edu.au School of Historical and European Studies (Archaeology) La Trobe University Melbourne, Victoria 3086 AUSTRALIA E-mail: j.birkett-rees@latrobe.edu.au Abstract This paper addresses the archaeological record of the Middle Bronze Age in cen- tral Transcaucasia, around Tbilisi, within the context of physical and social landscapes. Archival research and field survey have brought together the archaeo- logical record of the Tbilisi region, resulting in a comprehensive digital database of all recorded archaeological features in the area. This paper examines the Middle Bronze Age features in the landscape and investigates how concepts of tenure may be active in the nature and location of these features. Introduction The natural landscapes of the Caucasus are legendary, at once imposing and inviting to human inhabitants. The commanding mountain range fea- tures in local mythologies and permeated the mythic cycles of distant civi- lisations, famously bound with the Titan of Greek legend, Prometheus. 1 In local variations, a Promethean figure named Abrskil or Amiran is the