Bagineti (Armaztsikhe) settlement (Region of Mtskheta – Mtianeti)
Bagineti (Armaztsikhe) settlement (Georgian: ბაგინეთი (არმაზციხე )) – The acropolis of Armaztsikhe, now called Bagineti, was located on the right bank of the Kura (Mtkvari) River, on a mountainous promontory on the way to the capital. The walls of the acropolis, following the relief, outlined an irregular figure and occupied the territory of about 30 hectares. The walls (2.6-4 meters thick), which had quadrangular towers and buttresses, were erected directly on the rock in a hollowed-out furrow. The lower part of the walls is made of well-cut stone; the masonry is dry, the quadras (size 0.5 x 1 m) were connected by iron fasteners in the form of dovetails.
On top of the stone base was a raw stone wall (the total height of the walls reached 6 meters). Clay mortar was used for masonry and clay outer coating, as a result of which the wall looked like a monolithic mass; for greater reliability it was also reinforced with transverse oak beams. Frames of entrances and windows were stone. The towers were apparently covered with red tiles (flat and grooved). In terms of location and construction techniques, the Armaztsikhe acropolis has many common features with the defensive structures of West Asia, particularly Urartu and Achaemenid Iran.
City of Mtskheta (Georgian: ქალაქი მცხეთა), Mtskheta Municipality (Georgian: მცხეთის მუნიციპალიტეტი)