Svan towers

Svan towers (Georgian: სვანური კოშკი, romanized: svanuri k'oshk'i) refers to the tower houses built as defensive dwellings in the Georgian historical region of Svaneti (present-day Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti). These towers are unique to the region and were primarily built between the 9th and 12th centuries, during the Georgian Golden Age.^[1] However, the origins of the tower likely date back to prehistory.^[2]

Description

The Svan towers are either freestanding or attached to residential houses. The towers usually have 3-5 storeys, and the thickness of the walls decreases with height, giving them a tapering appearance. The upper floors of the towers are exclusively used for defense, with

embrasures providing cover when throwing projectiles.^[1] The connected houses are usually 80-130 square meters in ground area and have 2 floors: the ground floor of the house, called the machub, and the upper floor, called the darbazi.^[1] The ground floor is a single hall with a hearth and provides accommodation for both people and animals, with elaborately-decorated wooden partitions separating the two spaces.^[2] The second floor provides summer accommodation and storage.^[1] The second floor also provides access to the tower (if a tower is attached). The floors are connected by a wooden ladder.^{[citation needed}

]

Conservation

Many of the towers in the Svaneti region have fallen into disrepair or have disappeared entirely, however,

World Heritage List in 1996.^[2]

A modern reconstruction of a Svan Tower is built near Tbilisi, as part of the Tbilisi Open Air Museum of Ethnography in Georgia, overlooking the Turtle Lake, behind Vake Park.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d World Heritage List: Upper Svaneti -- No 709 (ICOMOS Report) (Report). ICOMOS. 28 October 1993. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Upper Svaneti". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 26 March 2022.