Fortress Cibileum

The fortress of Cybilium is one of the most significant monuments of ancient Apsilia - a state that was once located on the territory of modern Abkhazia.

The fortress has become a popular tourist attraction thanks to archaeological research of mountainous Abkhazia that began in the 1960s. Once this powerful 16-meter fortress guarded one of the spurs of the Great Silk Road, here was the residence of the rulers of Apsilia VI-VIII centuries. Now, thanks to the efforts of archaeologists, you can see three towers, rounded river cobblestones that served as projectiles for catapults, a confusing system of passages, a water supply, a bathhouse, a pool for water accumulation, and on top of the cliffs - the remains of two ancient temples of the VI century and a Christian temple of the XIV-XVII centuries. In the burials under the walls, scientists found coins of Roman times, hoes, iron weapons, jewelry dating back to the 3-7 centuries, and in addition, a bronze sarcophagus, transferred to the St. Petersburg Hermitage. During the excavations in Zebelde and other areas, archaeologists identified a kind of late antique Cebeldin culture.

Nearby there are the remains of estates and cemeteries of the XIV-XIX centuries, the estate of the Voronov noblemen “Yasochka”, the Tsebeldinsky cave and the Shakuran waterfall.