# Vani Archaeological Site and Museum
- URL: https://explore-georgia.ge/en/places/vani-archaeological-site
- Type: place to visit
- Region: Imereti
- Coordinates: 42.08505, 42.504008

The Vani archaeological site is a multi-layer monument on the south-western outskirts of the town of Vani, on the left bank of the Chishuri, a tributary of the Sulori, 1 kilometre from the centre, on a triangular hill divided into three terraces and known as Akhvlediani Hill, protected on two sides by deep ravines; the site covers about 6.5 hectares, stood at the crossing of ancient trade routes and commanded the plain around it. Vani is the best witness to the development of the Colchian hinterland from the age of Greek colonisation into Roman times, and four phases are distinguished: in the eighth to seventh centuries BC it was a cult centre of log-built timber structures with black-surfaced ornamented pottery and terracottas of the "great mother"; from the end of the seventh century to the mid-fourth it was the centre of one of the political and administrative units of Colchis, with a timber temple-sanctuary, ritual pits cut into the rock, the family tombs of the aristocracy, whose diadems, temple pendants, necklaces and bracelets are masterpieces of Colchian goldwork, and imported pottery from Chios, Lesbos and Attica; in the fourth to third centuries BC a stone fortification wall, a palace-type building, Gorgon antefixes, staters of the Macedonian kings and a signet ring with the Greek name "Dedatos", probably a local ruler, appear; and from the second half of the third century to the mid-first century BC Vani took shape as a temple city with towered defensive walls, the "Little Gate", the temple-propylaeum of the lower terrace, the mosaic-floored and "round" temples of the central terrace, a 12-stepped altar, Corinthian capitals, lion-head waterspouts, a workshop for casting bronze statuary and the bronze torso of a youth in the "severe style".

In the mid-first century BC the city was twice attacked and burnt: the gate, the mosaic temple, the altar and the round temple bear the marks of fire and destruction, the destroyers named as Pompey (65 BC), Pharnaces II (49 BC) or Mithridates of Pergamon (47 BC), and in Lordkipanidze's view the two layers answer to the invasions of Pharnaces and Mithridates. The city never recovered: the Roman and medieval remains are scant, a bronze sarcophagus with lion heads of about AD 200, coins of Marcus Aurelius and Caracalla, a church, a kiln and a warrior's burial. The ancient name of the city is unknown: Nino Khoshtaria identified it with the Surium of Pliny the Elder, Otar Lordkipanidze with Strabo's temple of Leucothea, sacked by Pharnaces and Mithridates. The site has been a monument of national significance since 2018 and on the UNESCO World Heritage tentative list since 2007, and a suspension bridge joins it to the Otar Lordkipanidze Archaeological Museum-Reserve, which holds some 30 thousand objects from the expedition of 1947–2009, a bronze torso of the second century BC, a collection of gold jewellery, bronze statuary and the Sulori hoard of silver coins; the gold of Vani has been shown many times in the world's leading museums.

## History

The first reports of archaeological finds at Vani appear in the work of the French orientalist Marie Brosset in 1851 and in the Georgian press of the 1870s; in 1889 Alexander Stoyanov, director of the Kutaisi gymnasium, made small digs, in 1896 and 1901–1903 Ekvtime Takaishvili, and in 1936 an expedition of the Enimki institute carried out a survey. From 1947 to 1962 the excavations were conducted by an expedition of the Institute of History of the Georgian Academy of Sciences under Nino Khoshtaria, and from 1966 the expedition of the Centre for Archaeology under Otar Lordkipanidze has dug regularly, led since his death in 2002 by Darejan Kacharava.

In 1982 the Vani state historical and archaeological reserve was created, and in September 1985, during an international symposium on the ancient history of the Black Sea coast, the museum opened on the initiative of Otar Lordkipanidze, founded on the collections of the Janashia museum and the Vani local museum and the materials of the expedition base; in 1987 it was named the Vani State Archaeological Museum-Reserve, in 2002 the museum received Lordkipanidze's name, and since 2005 it has been part of the Georgian National Museum. In 2010–2020 the museum building and infrastructure were wholly renewed; in 2023 the museum received the Silletto Prize for community participation at the European Museum of the Year Awards.

## Visit info

Vani is about 40 kilometres south-west of Kutaisi, about an hour by car or marshrutka. The site lies a kilometre south-west of the town centre on Akhvlediani Hill and is joined to the museum grounds by a suspension bridge. The museum is part of the Georgian National Museum; entry is by ticket, and opening hours and prices are published on the National Museum's site. Parking is by the building.

## Tips

See the museum first, the collection of gold jewellery, the bronze torso of the youth and the reconstruction of the mosaic temple, then cross the bridge to the site and look for the temple-propylaeum of the lower terrace, the 12-stepped altar and the Little Gate. The most famous gold is in the National Museum in Tbilisi. In spring the hill is in flower and the view opens over the Colchian lowland.

## Safety

Keep to the paths on the site, as open trenches and loose walls are unguarded and the excavation zone is not entered; the edges of the ravines are sheer. There is no shade on the hill in summer, so bring a hat and water. No flash photography in the museum.

## Sources

- [Vani archaeological site — Georgian Wikipedia](https://ka.wikipedia.org/wiki/ვანის_ნაქალაქარი)
- [Vani archaeological site — English Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vani_archaeological_site)
- [Vani archaeological site — Russian Wikipedia](https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Вани_%28археологический_памятник%29)
- [Vani Archaeological Museum-Reserve — Georgian Wikipedia](https://ka.wikipedia.org/wiki/ვანის_არქეოლოგიური_მუზეუმ-ნაკრძალი)
- [Vani Museum honoured with Community Participation prize at European Museum of the Year Awards — Agenda.ge](https://agenda.ge/en/news/2023/1830)
- [Vani archaeological site — Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q66376513)

## This page in other languages

- [ქართული](https://explore-georgia.ge/ka/adgilebi/vanis-naqalaqari-da-arqeologiuri-muzeumi)
- [Русский](https://explore-georgia.ge/ru/mesta/gorodishche-vani-i-arkheologicheskii-muzei)