Tsitsamuri is a small village outside Mtskheta

Mtskheta

Mtskheta , one of the oldest cities of the country of Georgia , is located approximately 20 kilometers north of Tbilisi at the confluence of the Aragvi and Kura rivers. The city is now the administrative centre of the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region...

, Georgia

Georgia (country)

Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

. It is known as the place where the nation's famous writer and poet, Ilia Chavchavadze, was assassinated in 1907.

Near Tsitsamuri (identified as the Seusamora of Strabo

Strabo

Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...

) a ruined acropolis

Acropolis

Acropolis means "high city" in Greek, literally city on the extremity and is usually translated into English as Citadel . For purposes of defense, early people naturally chose elevated ground to build a new settlement, frequently a hill with precipitous sides...

 of ancient Iberia

Caucasian Iberia

Iberia , also known as Iveria , was a name given by the ancient Greeks and Romans to the ancient Georgian kingdom of Kartli , corresponding roughly to the eastern and southern parts of the present day Georgia...

 was unearthed by the archaeologist Andria Apakidze

Andria Apakidze

Andria Apakidze , Doctor of History and professor, was a Georgian archaeologist and historian specializing in the studies of ancient Georgia, and the author of widely known works on archaeology....

 in 1953. It is to be identified with the Zaden-tsikhe (ზადენციხე), i.e., "the fortress of Zaden

Zaden

Zaden was, according to the medieval Georgian chronicles, the god of fruitfulness in a pre-Christian pantheon of ancient Georgians of Kartli . King Parnajom of Iberia is reported to have built a fortress at Mount Zedazeni to house the colossus of Zadeni which, along with other pagan idols, are...

" of the medieval Georgian chronicles. This fortress and a possible pagan temple was overlooked by Mount Zedazeni ("Upper Zaden") where later a Christian monastery

Zedazeni Monastery

Zedazeni Monastery is a Georgian Orthodox monastery , located on the Zedazeni mountain the hills of Saguramo, northeast to Mtskheta and to the east side of the Aragvi River....

 was built. A necropolis

Necropolis

A necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, literally meaning "city of the dead"...

 of the 1st century BC/2nd century AD was brought to light early in the 1980s; a bronze batillum

Batillum

Batillum or vatillum was an ancient Roman iron shovel with a short handle used for various purposes, especially as a fire-shovel, chafing-dish, and for burning incense....

 and an Italic oenochoe

Oenochoe

An oenochoe, also spelled oinochoe, is a wine jug and a key form of Greek pottery. There are many different forms of Oenochoe. The earliest is the olpe and has an S-shaped profile from head to foot.Oenochoe may be decorated or undecorated...

were among the finds.