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Avranlo Megalithic Fortress

In the village of Avranlo, 1,640 meters above sea level in Tsalka municipality, you will see the remains of a fortress, shrouded in mystery, right where the deep and beautiful valley of the Ktsia River ends.
Region
Kvemo Kartli
City
Tsalka

This village first appears in historical sources in the 17th century, under the name “Tezi.” It was called “Avranli” by Greeks resettled from the Ottoman Empire in 1828-1829.

The fortress, from the 1st millennium BCE, looks out over the village. Its 2-to-2.5-meter-thick walls are of cyclopean construction, in three tiers, being at the base of the mountain, on the slopes, and on the peak. 

It is interesting to note that there are no traces of any of the auxiliary buildings which would be expected in the architecture of any such fortress. 

The upper tier, measuring 25 x 35 meters, is strangely smashed on the inside. Archaeologists still do not have an answer to the question of what happened here. 

For that reason, you cannot see any of the underground catacombs that the fortress should have had for storing its strategic reserves of weapons, foodstuffs, and water. 

Moreover, a church from the feudal period is preserved at the fortress.

Many archaeological findings have been discovered close to the complex, demonstrating that a well-developed settlement existed around Avranlo Fortress until the 2nd century.

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