Archaeological site of Urbnisi (Region of Shida Kartli)
Archaeological site of Urbnisi (Georgian: ურბნისის ნამოსახლარი) – The oldest, extinct city of Georgia, once located on the right bank of the Kura River, on the so-called Khizanaant-mountain (Georgian: ხიზანაანთ გორა). From the second century BC, the second city in importance in Iberia after Mtskheta. In Georgian chronicles it is mentioned as a significant fortified center of the eastern Georgian kingdom of Kartli (Iberia), which became a city in ancient times as a result of the unification of several settlements: Urbnisi proper, Ruisi, Khizanaant-gora, Kvatsela, etc., where settlements had existed since the Eneolithic era. As a result of recent archaeological excavations, remains of structures of the same type as in Mtskheta, dating back to approximately the 4th century BC, have been discovered.
The city was surrounded by a wall and well-maintained. In 500, a basilica was built there. This is the only thing that remains of Urbnisi. In 736, the Arabs razed Urbnisi to the ground. Systematic excavations have been conducted since 1953. Monuments from the Eneolithic to the late Middle Ages have been discovered. Among them: the remains of powerful walls with towers made of adobe bricks and a moat surrounding them, as well as an ancient canal, quarters of the ancient and early feudal times, necropolises. Rich and varied archaeological material has been obtained, characterizing the high level of local crafts and extensive economic ties with the cities of Georgia and other regions of Transcaucasia, as well as with other countries.
Urbnisi village (Georgian: სოფელი ურბნისი), Kareli Municipality (Georgian: ქარელის მუნიციპალიტეტი)
