Amlivi Deity Church and the Historical Data of its Gravestones

Abstract

According to the inscription preserved at Amlivi Deity Church (we provide the reading which differs from the reading offered by previous scholars), one of the most outstanding representatives of Baratashvili Gostashabishvili clan, Papuna Gostashabishvili, son of Gostashab, built a royal court chapel in 1684, during the reign of Giorgi XI (1675-1688; 1702-1709). For a long period, this monument remained destroyed. Yet, when we undertook this research, the monument was already restored with the efforts of Georgian Ministry of Culture and Sport. Thus, we were able to perceive the complete monument. The gravestones of the church were revealed during the cleaning, and this enabled us implement the given research. Based on the epitaphs written on the gravestones, we conclude that the graves belong to Papuna Gostashabishvili and his wife Khvaramze. We identified the name Khvaramze based on the epitaph. We were also able to identify the dates of death of Papuna and his wife.