Shorapani fortress is a monument of ancient times and of the Middle Ages. In historical sources, the fortress is mentioned by Strabo (I-BC - I AD), according to whom Shorapani fortress was so enormous that it contained the entire city population. According to Leonti Mroveli (IX century), the original fortress was built by the King Parnavaz I of Kartli in the III century BC.
In the VI century, during the battle between Persia and Byzantium, the fortress passed from hand to hand, but it did not lose its strategic importance. The fortress was occupied by the Ottomans in 1730, and was recaptured by the King Solomon I of Imereti in 1770.
Since 1983, excavations began here; the nearby territory was completely cleared and the eastern, western and northern parts of the wall becam visible. Under the structures, earlier buildings of previous times were discovered. Structures of antiquity covered with flat and curved tiles and Colchis Amphorae were found. Currently, archaeological material is kept in Zestaphoni museum.
The city fortress occupied about 600 square meters and had two entrance gates from the northeast and west. Today, arched support column of the ancient fortress are found. From the fortress to the river Kvirila passes a 60 meter tunnel of the VI century. The tunnel was restored in the late feudal era.
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