Great Mtskheta State Archaeological Museum-Reserve

What will You See at the Great Mtskheta State Archaeological Museum-Reserve?

The area of Mtskheta has been inhabited since the Early and Middle Bronze Ages. If you’re interested in history and ancient cultures, then here you will learn how Mtskheta, sometimes called the second Jerusalem for its immense amount of holy artifacts and places, developed and transformed. At the museum-reserve you will learn about everyday life, history, culture, religion and customs of the inhabitants in various periods since the 3rd millennium BCE.

The state museum-reserve covers 30 hectares, and is where the most important pre-Christian and Christian historical monuments of Georgia are located. This includes Armaztsikhe - the royal residence of the kings of Kartli (3rd century BCE), Pitiakhshi - the residence of the kings of Iberia in Armaziskhevi (palace complex, bath and its complex underground heating system, graves of the Pitiakhshi, 2nd-3rd centuries), Samtavro Archaeological Field (2nd millennium BCE - 8th century), and Baiatkhevi and the mausoleum tombs (1st century).

The unique objects discovered by archaeologists in this region are kept in the archaeological part of the museum-reserve. They include objects made from gold, handmade glass, gold and silver coins, epigraphic materials, weapons, everyday objects, and even toys, dating from the 4th millennium BCE to the 10th-12th centuries.