Fortress of Sakire (Region of Samtskhe-Javakheti)
Fortress of Sakire (Georg. საკირეს ციხე) was built on top of a high rocky mountain, southeast of the village of Sakire (Borjomi municipality), at the confluence of two rivers – Sakirestskali (Georg. საკირესწყალი) and Gujriskhevi (Georg. გუჯრისხევი), and goes back to early medieval. The walls of the castle have been preserved in fragments. Their height reaches 5-6 meters, thickness 2 meters. Fragments of the walls are located at different levels of the rocky relief and it is almost impossible to imagine the original appearance of the monument. The defensive complex is made of roughly processed rock and is located on three levels.
The southern level of the fortress is the lowest and is surrounded by a stone wall. The second, northern level is also surrounded by a stone wall. A square citadel tower was erected on the third level. A church was built between the western walls of the fortress and the southern walls of the citadel, which must be of an early period. On the territory adjacent to the fortress, there are the remains of a late medieval settlement with an area of 6000 square meters, which have preserved a significant number of buildings erected using the dry masonry method. From a strategic point of view, Fortress of Sakire occupied a convenient location and could control quite a large area.
Comments