Gonio — A Roman Fortress on the Black Sea

Overview

Twelve kilometers south of Batumi, at the mouth of the Chorokhi River, Gonio holds one of Georgia's oldest and most significant archaeological sites — a fortress first built by Rome in the 1st century AD to guard the eastern edge of the empire's Black Sea frontier.

Over two millennia, Gonio-Apsaros passed through Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman hands, each layer still visible in the walls today, and local tradition holds that the apostle Matthias is buried within the fortress grounds — though excavation near the site is prohibited, so the claim remains unverified.

Beyond the fortress, Gonio has become one of Adjara's fastest-developing beach villages: a wide, quieter alternative to Batumi's shoreline, with mountains rising directly behind the sand and the Turkish border just a few kilometers further south.