Abstract:
From the beginning of 2022, the three-year project "Monuments
of History and Culture of the Samtskhe Region" is being
implemented at the scientific base of Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi
State University, which is financed within the framework of the
Georgian Cultural Heritage Research Program of the Shota Rustaveli
National Science Foundation.
The aim of the project “Historical-Cultural Heritage of Samtskhe”
is to study the architectural monuments of Samtshke region
in Georgia (according to the modern administrative division
– Akhaltsike, Aspindza and Adigeni municipalities). Thereis different
kind of buildings in this region: churches, monasteries, castles,
keeps, towers, mosques, darbazi-type living houses, darans,
built in the period until 1921. The main goal of the project is to
record the historical monuments of Samtskhe, make theirs cholarly
analysis, schemes, photo and video recording, to study the
paleographic data etc. The team will prepare and publish the research
concerning each of the monuments.
The main outcome of the project will be bilingual monograph
(Georgian-English) “Historical-Cultural Heritage of Samtskhe”;
analytic papers of encyclopedical type concerning each monument, which will consist of the parts as follows: 1) location
of the building, toponyms, historical-geographical research, 2)
history and historiography of the monument,3) its architectural
and artistical peculiarities, detailed schemes,4) narrative, documental
and epigraphic sources.
Among the secular monuments of cultural heritage of Adigeni
municipality, the most important are: Afieti Castle and Caravanserai,
Kikibo Castle, Ude (Khandaki) Castle, Golden Castle,
Kharkhemi Castle, King Tamar Castle, Melnisi Castle, Bridge over
the Otskhe-river, Makhvilo Castle, Zanavi Castle, Kekhovani Tower,
Village Abastumni bath.
