Archaeological site · Mtskheta, Mtskheta Municipality, Mtskheta-Mtianeti
Armaztsikhe
არმაზციხე · Armaztsikhe-Bagineti · Armazi
The excavated citadel of ancient Armazi on Bagineti hill south of Mtskheta, where walls, towers, a palace, a bathhouse and a wine cellar of the pre-Christian kings of Kartli have been uncovered.
Where it is
41.8376, 44.7217
Why go
Excavation here has separated three layers of occupation, running from the 4th–3rd centuries BC into the first centuries AD. What you walk among are foundations and low walls: towers and bulwarks, old plumbing, and the base of the idol of Armazi, the chief god proclaimed by King Parnavaz. The site is a field museum within the Great Mtskheta State Archaeological Museum-Reserve, whose collection keeps the gold, glass, coins and weapons recovered across the reserve. From the hill you look back over Mtskheta and its churches. It rewards travellers curious about Georgia before Christianity.
Base yourself nearby
Historic town
Mtskheta
Mtskheta was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Iberia and is the place where Georgia adopted Christianity in the fourth century. Today it is a small, walkable town twenty kilometres from Tbilisi holding Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, the hilltop church of Jvari, the working convent of Samtavro and the archaeological remains of the pre-Christian royal city, inscribed together on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is simultaneously Georgia's most important pilgrimage destination and its most accessible serious historical site.
city
Tbilisi
Georgia’s capital is a layered city of old balconies, sulfur baths, hillside neighborhoods, contemporary restaurants and centuries of history along the Mtkvari River.
Near Armaztsikhe
Church
Svetitskhoveli Cathedral
The principal cathedral of the Georgian Orthodox Church in the centre of Mtskheta, rebuilt between 1010 and 1029 by the architect Arsukidze, and part of the Historical Monuments of Mtskheta World Heritage property.
1 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Monastery
Jvari Monastery
A stone tetraconch church on a rocky summit where the Aragvi meets the Mtkvari, looking down on Mtskheta; built at the end of the 6th century and part of the Historical Monuments of Mtskheta World Heritage property.
1 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Monastery
Samtavro Monastery
A working convent in the centre of Mtskheta around an 11th-century domed church where Georgia's first Christian king and queen are buried; part of the Historical Monuments of Mtskheta World Heritage property.
1 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Fortress
Bebris Tsikhe
A ruined hilltop fortress on the right bank of the Aragvi just north of Mtskheta, built to shut the town's approach from the Aragvi valley, with its citadel and lower yard still traceable.
2 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ