The museum
Probably the most famous attraction of Rabati Castle is the Samtskhe-Javakheti Historical Museum.
The geographical location of Samtskhe-Javakheti has created favourable conditions for cultural and economic development since the region has been a common stop on cross-regional trade routes since ancient times.
Samtskhe-Javakheti Museum was founded in 1930. In 1937 it was transformed into a local museum - the existing collection also includes material reflecting the history and culture of the region. The Samtskhe-Javakheti Historical Museum, renovated in 2012 according to modern standards, is part of the National Museum.
The Samtskhe-Javakheti Historical Museum contains a significant portion of the cultural heritage of the region and the exhibition is organized in chronological order from ancient times to the 20th century.
At the entrance you can see a model of a typical flat-roofed home of the local population of ancient times. Due to the dry and harsh climate, houses of the Javakheti region were semi-underground and mostly built of stone. But they had wooden ceilings and roofs with an opening at the top, unique both in style and practicality. They would let the sunlight in and at the same time let the smoke from the fireplace out.
An assortment of pottery is always on display along with a collection of Georgian lapidary patterns and a carpet rug exhibition.
Among the most valuable artifacts on display at the museum are bronze disks dating back to the 15th century BC. These precious remains represent the worshiping of the local sun goddess and were supposedly worn by priests at the time of their burial.
Another noteworthy vessel features pictograms which scholars believe to be a very early attempt at writing.
The museum also contains the oldest surviving fragment of the Georgian epic poem “The Knight in the Panther’s Skin”, written by Georgian national poet Shota Rustaveli in the 12th century. The copy of the poem that you can see here in the museum was most probably made in the 16th century.
Picture credits: picture taken by beyondarts GmbH with kind permission of Georgian National Museum
Project “Increased regional added value in the tourism sectors of Georgia by Digital Heritage Tourism Guides” was funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) with funds of Austrian Development Cooperation.
