Gelsunda

Gelsunda is a rock-cut architectural monument near the village of Khertvisi (Aspindza Municipality), on the left bank of the River Mtkvari.

The monument contains three independent cave complexes. The desert complex is located on two floors along the rock. It consists of a rectangular-shaped chamber intended for monks. It has a flat ceiling and several roughly built wall planes.

It dates back to the 8^th–9^th centuries. The ruins of the small hall church built with mortared stone have been preserved. Today, the upper floor of the complex is inaccessible due to the collapse of the front face of the rock. Above the desert, in a sheer cliff, there is a cave complex arranged on several floors, consisting of separate artificial cave-chambers with oval and random-shaped internal spaces. The third complex is of the Darani (underground structure, common in medieval Georgia) type. A stone door has been preserved in this cave. The cave and the Darani complexes date back to the early Middle Ages.

Literature: გაფრინდაშვილი გ., ვარძია, თბ., 1976.

G. Gaprindashvili