Rustavi City Hall and the Rustavi Historical Museum, in collaboration with the “Sheraton Grand Tbilisi Metekhi Palace,” held a summary conference of the largest archaeological expedition in the history of Rustavi.
At the event, Mayor of Rustavi Nino Latsabidze, Minister of Culture of Georgia, Tinatin Rukhadze, the Delegate of Rustavi in the Georgian Parliament, Irakli Shatakishvili, the General Director of the National Agency for Protection of Cultural Heritage, Tea Oniani, State Trustee in the Lower Georgian side Ilia Jalaghania, Deputy Mayor, Deputy Chairman of Rustavi City Council and MPs, archaeologists, scientific circle Representatives of Bi, archaeologists participating in the expedition and volunteers attended.
The largest archaeological excavations in the history of Rustavi, organized by Rustavi City Hall and the Georgian Ministry of Culture, based on permission from the National Agency for Protection of Cultural Heritage.
From July until now, the expedition, in which volunteer students of Tbilisi State University and other universities, students from Rustavi, professional archaeologists, and regular Rustavi residents have been involved, has made the most important discoveries.
Within the framework of intensive field research, numerous artifacts were discovered on the territory of Rustavi Prison, including unique samples of military equipment dating back to the 9th–10th centuries. Especially important were the three iron muzaradi and the chain shirt.
These historical objects found during the exploration of Rustavi Palace, among the war-purpose artifacts of this era, are the only ones in the modern Caucasus. In addition to the artifacts of war purposes, in the rooms IV and V of the palace, beautiful glassware dating back to the IX-X centuries was seen.
These discoveries and, in general, the expedition in Rustavi, had quite a wide response in both Georgian and international media. Media platforms specializing in archaeology, such as Ancient Origins, The History Blog, ArkeoNews, Archaeology Magazine, archaeology.org, forums, and online discussion platforms, wrote about Rustavi discoveries.
The first stage of Rustavi’s archaeological expedition is over. The research on Rustavi’s medieval palace will continue in 2026.
