Grakliani Hill
An active archaeological excavation near Kaspi where nine millennia of layers, from Neolithic to Hellenistic, have been uncovered.
- Time needed
- 1 h
- From Tbilisi
- 58 km · 0:50
- Road
- Paved
- Car needed
- Economy class
- Season
- May–October
- Entry
- free
Grakliani Hill sits beside the Tbilisi-Gori highway and most people still drive straight past it. It is a low rise near Igoeti where a Tbilisi State University expedition led by Vakhtang Licheli has dug since 2007, and the finds have changed the picture of early Kartli.
The mound holds many layers: a Neolithic settlement, Bronze and Iron Age burials, and Hellenistic-period buildings. Excavators have exposed shrines with stone altars, craft workshops, a large cemetery field, and one structure whose vessels and residues have led the team to describe it as an early pharmacy — a workshop where plant preparations were made.
One find is far more contested. Marks cut into the base of an altar were dated by the expedition to the 10th or 9th century BC and interpreted as an early script. If that dating holds, it would be among the oldest inscriptions in the region; a number of specialists question both the date and the reading. The argument is unresolved, and that in itself is worth knowing before you look at the stone.
What you actually see on site: open trenches, stone foundations, a protective shelter over the most important section, and information boards. This is not a museum but a working dig. In summer students are at work and are often happy to explain what is coming out of the ground. Anyone after spectacle should choose Uplistsikhe instead; anyone interested in archaeology will find this a livelier picture.
Practical advice
Fifty minutes covers it. The walk up is short, but the path is bare earth and trench edges are unstable — stay on the marked route and do not climb into the excavations. There is almost no shade, so a hat and water matter in summer. No toilets or cafe on site; the nearest are at the roadside services near Igoeti. June to September is the best window, when the expedition is working.
How to get there from Tbilisi
Take the E60 from Tbilisi towards Gori as far as Igoeti, about 55 km of fast dual carriageway. Grakliani Hill lies just north of the highway near the village of Gamdlistsqaro; the sign is small, so GPS helps. Fifty-eight kilometres in total, roughly fifty minutes. The last two kilometres are narrow village asphalt. Fuel is available at the Igoeti roadside stations. Cars are left at the foot of the hill; an economy car is entirely sufficient.
Click a marker for details. Coloured lines are ready-made road trips.
Nearby places
MonasterySamtavisi Cathedral
A cathedral of 1030 near Kaspi — the benchmark of Georgian facade decoration, copied for two centuries afterwards.
MonasteryErtatsminda Cathedral
A 13th-century domed church south of Kaspi, richly carved outside and tied by tradition to the grave of Giorgi Saakadze.
CaveUplistsikhe
A city carved into the rock above the Mtkvari — Georgia's oldest urban centre, with over 3,000 years of history.
Booking and enquiries
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