Gonio Fortress

Gonio is a Roman fortification in Adjara, Georgia, on the Black Sea, 15 km south of Batumi, at the mouth of the Chorokhi river [1]. The oldest reference to the fortress is by Pliny the Elder in the Natural History (1st century AD) [1]. In the 2nd century AD it was a well-fortified Roman city within Colchis [1]. The town was also known for its theatre and hippodrome [1]. Procopius, writing in the 6th century, speaks of the remains of its public buildings as proving that it was once a place of some importance [1]. It later came under Byzantine influence [1]. In 1547, Gonio was taken by the Ottoman Empire, who held it until 1878, when, via the San-Stefano Treaty, Adjara became part of the Russian Empire [1]. The fortress is rectangular, and was built with four gates and 22 towers along the circuit of walls enclosing the site; 18 of the towers still survive [1].