Vani
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2008-06-27T16:49:00Z
SilvonenBot
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{{for|the Hindu religious place in [[Maharashtra]],[[India]]|Vani (Nashik)}}
{{for|the [[child marriage]] custom of [[Pakistan]]|Vani (custom)}}
'''Vani''' is a town in [[Imereti]] region of western [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], at the Sulori river (a tributary of the [[Rioni river]]), 41 km southwest from the regional capital [[Kutaisi]]. The town with the population of 4,600 ([[2002]] est.) is an administrative center of the Vani [[raion]]i (district) comprising also 43 neighbouring villages (total area – 557 km²; population – 34,000, [[2002]] est.).
Systematic [[archaeology|archaeological]] studies (N.Khoshtaria, O.Lordkipanidze) carried out in the Vani environs since [[1947]] revealed the remnants of a rich city of the ancient power of [[Colchis]]. The name of this ancient settlement is still unknown but four distinct stages of uninterrupted occupation have been identified. The first phase is dated to the 8th-7th centuries B.C. In this period Vani is presumed to have been a major cultic centre. The second phase - end of the 7th and beginning of the 6th to the first half of the 4th century B.C. - is represented by cultural layers, remains of wooden structures, sacrificial altars cut in the rocky ground, and rich burials. It is assumed that on this stage Vani was the centre of a political-administrative unit of the kingdom of [[Colchis]]. The third phase covers the second half of the 4th - first half of the 3rd century B.C. It is represented largely by rich burials, remains of stone structures. To the fourth phase (the 3rd-mid-1st cent. B.C.) belong defensive walls, the so-called small gate, sanctuaries and cultic buildings (temples, altars sacrificial platforms), and the remains of a foundry for casting bronze statues. It is assumed that in the 3rd-1st centuries B.C. Vani was a templar city. According to the archaeological data, the city was destroyed in the mid-1st century B.C. Subsequently, Vani declined to a village and was officially granted a status of a town only in [[1981]].
In town Vani there is an interesting museum (founded in [[1985]]), where some unique pieces of the ancient [[Colchis]] are exhibited.
==Sister Cities==
* {{flagicon|USA}} [[Fallon, Nevada]], [[USA]]
== Bibliography ==
Lordkipanidze O., "Vani, An Ancient City of Colchis." ''Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies''. 32(2): 151-195, 16 plates. Durham, USA, 1991.
== External links ==
* [http://www.museum.ge/english/vanimuseum.htm Otar Lordkipanidze Vani Archeological Museum]
* [http://www.archaeological.org/webinfo.php?page=10037&entrynumber=140 Vani, Georgia] at the [[Archaeological Institute of America]] website
* [http://www.great-adventures.com/destinations/rep_georgia/colchis.html Colchis, the land of the Golden Fleece]
<center>
{| border=0
| [[Image:Colchis-bracelet.jpg|thumb|208px|Pair of golden bracelets from Vani (c 5th-4th centuries BC)]]
| [[Image:Colchis-Nike.jpg|thumb|Statuette of [[Nike (mythology)|Nike]] , Greek goddess of victory, from Vani]]
| [[Image:Colchis-earrrings.jpg|thumb|Gold horseman-shape earrings from Vani (4th century AD)]]
|}
</center>
[[Category:Cities, towns and villages in Georgia (country)]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Georgia (country)]]
[[Category:Museums in Georgia (country)]]
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