Fortress of Tsephta (Region of Shavsheti)
Fortress of Tsephta (Georg. წეფთის ციხე, Tur. Eskikale Kalesi, Şavşat), is located in the historical Georgian region – Shavsheti (Georg. შავშეთი), in the historical village – Ustamishi (Georg. უსტამიში), now Eskikale, contemporary province of Artvin, Turkey. In historical records, mentions of the fortress are associated with the events of the 10th-11th centuries, but its construction must be dated earlier. Presumably, fortress was constructed during the ancient period, but after the Arab invasions this fortification as well as the other fortresses of historical Georgian regions Shavsheti and Klarjeti (Georg. კლარჯეთი), were ruined.
Fortress of Tsephta is constructed on rocky ridges, over Shavshetistskali(Georg. შავშეთისწყალი) river. The fortress is quite damaged and the remnants of the construction are seen only on foundation level. The walls of the fortress is destroyed and it is hard to imagine the scale of the construction, but in the highest preserved point the height of the wall reaches 9 meters. Thickness of the wall varies from 1 meter to 2.1 meters. Western part of the wall, which looks over the road that leads us to the fortress, seems to be the most massive.
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