Uplistsikhe — Rock-Cut City of the Kura
უფლისციხე · Uplistsikhe Cave City · Uplistsikhe Fortress
Iron Age to High Medieval (Kartli kingdom 300 BCE–1240 CE)·Kartli Iberian; pagan solar, then Christian Georgian (Bagrations), Zoroastrian? overlay·🇬🇪 Shida Kartli, Gori District, Mtkvari (Kura) River left bank, 10 km east of Gori, Kartli plain gateway, Georgia
About
About Uplistsikhe — Rock-Cut City of the Kura
207), cut 1000 BCE? Actually Early Iron 1000 BCE Kartli tribe to medieval 13th c. Christian city: 150+ caves over 40,000 sqm sandstone–tuff plateau, including pagan sun temple with sacrificial trench (1000 BCE), Hellenistic pharmakeia (large jars), Hall of Queen Tamar (12th c. 8×12 m coastal? Actually on rock with view), Christian basilica 9th c. with 2 columns, tunnels and secret water channel to Mtkvari. Heart of Kartli kingdom (King Parnavaz 3rd c.
BCE–Uplistsikhe as Uflis Tzicche). Controlled Silk Road Kartli–Caucasus–Persia fork via Gori. Destroyed 1240 Mongols (Ögedei sack), reoccupied Tamar. Vardzia's older sister but open plateau vs Vardzia hidden. Khakhanov 19th c. survey with continuous occupation Bronze to Byzantine. School for rock-cut.
Why it mattersOldest rock-cut city in Georgia (1000 BCE) with pagan sun temple to Christian basilica sequence, controlling Kartli Kura gateway vs Vardzia.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Is sun temple solar solstice aligned or apothecary
- 02Whether Uplistsikhe was Kartli capital before Mtskheta
Theories
- 01Uplistsikhe–Vardzia as Kartli twin rock cities: pagan Kura shrine vs. Tamar's fortress monastery
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.1000 BCE Early Iron Kartli sun shrine, major 5th c. BCE–10th c. CE city, Tamar 12th c.
- Period
- Iron Age to High Medieval (Kartli kingdom 300 BCE–1240 CE)
- Culture
- Kartli Iberian; pagan solar, then Christian Georgian (Bagrations), Zoroastrian? overlay
- Builders
- Kartli King Parnavaz (?3rd c. BCE) and Kartli Iberian architects, then Tamar masons
- Purpose
- Kura gateway city controlling Caucasus–Silk Road via Gori–Tbilisi–Black Sea vs Vardzia southern branch
- Abandoned
- 1240 Mongols Ögedei sack; 14th c. Tamerlane; Turk 1578; quake 1920
- Rediscovered
- 1850 Dubois; 1920s Soviet Rcheulishvili
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
1000 BCE
Kartli sun temple cut
300 BCE
Parnavaz capital Uplistsikhe Iberia
1240
Mongols sack Mongol Uplistsikhe
On the ground
Structures & features
41.9670° N · 44.2070° E · 680 m · 2 mapped features
Uplistsikhe — Hall of Queen Tamar and Wine Press Complex
hall wine8×12 m hall with coffered ceiling Tamar period (12th c.) above wine complex with 10-ton qvevri kelikhebi and pharmacy cut into tuff, Iron Age to Christian occupation palimpsest
41.9672° N · 44.2075° EUplistsikhe — Pagan Sun Temple (Bronze Age Apothecary)
sun templeBronze Age (?) sun temple (?) with apse and sacrificial pit predating 1000 BCE Kartli chiefdom, plus 2-column Christian basilica above overlay
41.9668° N · 44.2065° E