New 13-14th Century Halls Found in Medieval Vardzia Cave City
A unique new discovery has been revealed in the Georgia’s rock-hewn cave city, Vardzia, a 12th Century construction in southern Georgia.
Two new layers of cave and 10 new caverns within, dating back to the 13-14 centuries, have been found at the historic monument Vardzia which is being preserved through a government-funded restoration project. It has been revealed that of these ten caves two are hall types, used for residential and commercial purposes.
The Georgian Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection stated that the government-founded five-year renovation project of Vardzia is now in its active phase of implementation.
Hundreds of thousands has been spent on restoration work to preserve and restore several historical sites in Georgia, including the Vardzia complex.
"One of the oldest remains of Georgian bread bakery- Tone -was found during an archaeological study in Vardzia cave city. It is also recorded that in ancient storerooms also discovered at the site were pitchers in which locals stored wine and grain a dozen centuries ago,” the Ministry of Culture announced.
The Ministry also highlighted that ongoing studies and conservation work will be the basis for preparing a careful management plan for Vardzia with the aim of also presenting it in full submission to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Restoration work on the Vardzia cave complex was begun last year by the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation and the Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection.
Vardzia is an international project which is funded by the state. The program is headed by UNESCO expert Dr. Claudio Margotini, who has a PhD in cultural heritage of engineering and geological sciences. With Margotini, a group of local and international scientists are working on Vardzia reconstruction works, including David Park, Professor at the Courtauld Institute, London, where he is the Director of the Conservation of Wall Painting Department, Georgian Art historian Nana Kuprashvili and archaeologist Shota Iremashvili are working together to to bring new life to Georgia’s historic monument. They all agree it is an outstanding monument showcasing medieval Georgian architecture.
Located in the valley of the Kura River, situated about 70km south of Borjomi, Southern Georgia, Vardzia is a cave monastery complex that dates back to the 12th-13th Centuries. It is made up of hundreds of rooms and connecting passages carved into the mountainside, which stretches across 800 m, is up to 50 m deep and eight floors high. Among the rooms were refectories, cells, storage areas and wine cellars.
Tamar Svanidze