Phasis – Colchian Capital Port at Poti
Phasis · Poti Phasis · Rioni mouth Phasis · Fasis
Colchian Iron Age to Byzantine (6th c. BCE – 6th c. CE)·Colchian / Milesian Greek·🇬🇪 Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti, Poti, Rioni River mouth, Georgia
About
About Phasis – Colchian Capital Port at Poti
Phasis of Colchis (6th c. BCE Milesian + Colchian capital) at Rioni (Phasis river) mouth at modern Poti industrial lagoon: royal palace (Aeëtes myth), temple of Leucothea, and outer harbour mole –2 to –5 m under Poti's 19th c. port fill. Mamaiashvili 1984–2012 mapped –3 to –5 m ashlar quay and warehouse over Colchian fortified way. Byzantine Phasis bishopric 4th c. with Justinian fortress Petra nearby. Rioni avulsion 5th c. CE buried harbour under 3 m silt.
Why it mattersOnly located royal capital of Colchis archaeologically verified; links Aeëtes myth topography to delta geoarchaeology and Rioni avulsion chronology.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Location of Leucothea temple vs Dioscurias outer?
- 02Mamaiashvili vs Lordkipanidze delta model alignment
Theories
- 01Quay amphorae include Sinope–Heraclea jars — Colchis–Pontus chain calibrated there
- 02Rioni core phosphates map royal palace district — Colchian feasting vs Greek emporion quarter
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 600 BCE Colchian chiefdom + Milesian emporion
- Period
- Colchian Iron Age to Byzantine (6th c. BCE – 6th c. CE)
- Culture
- Colchian / Milesian Greek
- Purpose
- Royal harbour capital of Colchis, gold and iron transit
- Abandoned
- 6th c. CE Rioni delta shift, swamp abandonment
- Rediscovered
- Mamaiashvili Poti survey 1984
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
6th c. BCE
Milesian Factory + Colchian capital founded on Rioni delta island
4th c. BCE
Aeëtes' palace hosts Argonaut legend (Pindar) phase, harbour mole built
63 BCE
Pompey visits Phasis and Dioscurias after Mithridates chase
541 CE
Justinian fortress Petra founded to control Phasis estuary
1984–2012
Mamaiashvili & GAU map quay wall –2 to –5 m under Poti silt
On the ground
Structures & features
42.1483° N · 41.6752° E · -2 m · 3 mapped features
Phasis Rioni quay mole
harbour190 m quay at –3 to –5 m under Poti
42.1483° N · 41.6752° ELeucothea temple platform
templeColchian temple terrace above quay
42.1500° N · 41.6760° ERioni delta avulsion channel
channel5th c. avulsion bar that sealed harbour
42.1460° N · 41.6740° E