Gonio

The fortress gonio (Georgian გონიოს ციხე ), formerly Apsaros, is a Roman fortification in Georgia, in the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, in the municipality Chelwatschauri, near the village of the same name. It is located on the beach of the Black Sea, near the mouth of the river Tschorochi.

The oldest reference to the fortress of Pliny the Elder Naturalis Historia located in the 1st century AD in the Greek and Roman sources gonio is known by the name Apsaros or Apsaruntos; the present name dates from the 12th century gonio.

In the 2nd century AD Apsaros was a well-fortified Roman town in the Georgian kingdom of Colchis. In the city there was also a theater and a hippodrome. Later gonio came under Byzantine influence. In the vicinity of the city there was a Genoese trading post.

In 1547 gonio was occupied by the Ottomans. They held the city until 1878. Adjara This year was the San - Stephano - contract part of the Russian Empire.

The floor plan of the fortress is a rectangle with the dimensions 195 × 245 meters. Each page has a gated entrance. The wall is secured with 18 towers. The towers in the corners are larger. The fortress gonio Built from stone.