Şavşat (Satlel) Castle

Şavşat (Satlel) Castle is a historical defensive structure located within the boundaries of Söğütlü Village in the Şavşat district of Artvin province, along the Artvin-Ardahan highway. Built on a high primary rock overlooking the valley where the Tigrat and Mansuret streams converge, the castle exhibits similarities in plan and architectural features to those of the Bagratid period. Covering a total area of 3,360 square meters, the structure served as an important settlement and strategic point in the region from the Middle Ages until the mid-nineteenth century.^【1】

^{Şavşat Castle} (Şavşat Municipality)

Although no inscription on the structure specifies its construction date, its architectural style leads scholars to conclude that it was built during the ninth century by the Bagratid Kingdom, which dominated the region at the time. Some researchers claim that the castle was constructed in the tenth century by Georgian King Adarnase I. The region came under Ottoman administration in 1554, and the castle continued to function actively during this period. Ottoman records note that the structure was repaired in 1572 during the reign of Selim II, and Evliya Çelebi mentioned the castle in his writings during the seventeenth century.^【2】 The castle was abandoned in the 1850s following administrative reforms.

The primary building materials used in the castle’s construction are rubble stone and lime mortar. The structure was built on a sloping terrain rising from east to west with an oval plan. A large portion of the curtain walls has survived, supported by cylindrical and rectangular towers ranging in height from 13 to 15 meters. Excavations and investigations within the interior have identified remains of a chapel covered by a two-pitched roof, a cistern carved into the bedrock, a lord’s residence, an audience hall, storage rooms, a wine cellar, and a bathhouse.

^{Şavşat Castle Walls}(Şavşat Municipality)

Scientific archaeological excavations initiated at the castle in 2007 have yielded numerous movable cultural artifacts. Among these finds are coins from the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, cannonballs, marble fragments, and iron objects.^【3】 The largest group of artifacts recovered consists of unglazed ceramics dated to the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries. The “master marks” (monograms) inscribed on the ceramic fragments—including crosses, arrowheads, and vine tendrils—document the socio-cultural and commercial interactions of Şavşat Castle with Georgia and Byzantium during the Middle Ages.^【4】 Artifacts excavated from the castle are preserved at the Rize Museum, as no museum exists in Artvin.