Shatili Fortified Village (Region of Khevsureti)
Shatili (Georgian: შატილი) – The magnificent and unique monument of Georgian construction art. For centuries, Shatili protected the country from the invasion of northern tribes. One of the most well-equipped and still very well preserved fortresses. The village-fortress is located in the historical region of Georgia in Khevsureti, in a deep gorge of the Arguni River (Georgian: არღუნი). Shatili is built in a very strategic place, it closes the narrow valley of the Arguni from the northeast and controls the routes leading to Georgia. This unique medieval complex functioned as a residential area and as a fortress guarding the northeastern outskirts of the country. The fortress consists of terraced structures, where the roofs of the houses are flat. The entire development is a single fortified complex of residential buildings and 60 defensive towers. A person entering the first house, house after house, could reach the end of the village without being noticed.
In case of an enemy attack, it was possible to go around the entire village without going outside. Most of the buildings here are four-story, several of them are five-story and about ten are three-story. Initially, construction began on an inaccessible cliff. The walls of the original houses built on the cliff do not have openings for firearms, but they are found in many later buildings of the 17th-18th centuries. This detail indicates the periods of the appearance of firearms. The village is surrounded on the left side by a virtually impassable cliff, and on the right side there is a protective fence. In the middle of the village there was a street that was used for driving cattle, but it also served as a kind of drainage ditch. Shatili is applying for inclusion as a World Heritage Site
Village of Shatili (Georgian: სოფელი შატილი), Municipality of Dusheti (Georgian: დუშეთის მუნიციპალიტეტი)