Aghtsa Grotto

The grotto of Agtsa is located northwest of New Athos, near the ancient Abkhaz village of Anukhva, behind the Apsar Mountain, where the picturesque foothills begin. On the northern outskirts of the village, in a rock of red limestone, at an altitude of about 30 meters, the hole of the grotto of Agts darkens (from the Abkhazian “cliff”). The grotto is a corridor about seven meters long, and with a width and height of two and a half meters, it is supposedly a sanctuary for religious rites.

The grotto was discovered in 1940 by local archaeologist Lev Solovyov. On the smooth surface of the wall clearly appeared rock paintings. After studying the images, the scientist attributed some drawings to the Upper Paleolithic era, others to the Middle Ages. The drawings depict the contour of a human hand with a cross on the palm of his hand, hut-shaped dwellings, the image of a bow with a bowstring down. Also on the walls were found inscriptions of the early Middle Ages. Studying them, the scientist came to the conclusion that the inaccessible cave served as a sanctuary for religious rites. Excavations carried out near the grotto helped to discover a large site of the Paleolithic era.