A for­ti­fied defen­sive struc­ture in the form of a four-sided tow­er, typ­i­cal of Svaneti, a his­tor­i­cal moun­tain­ous region in north­west­ern Geor­gia. Built in the 8th — 18th cen­turies, these ances­tral struc­tures were used simul­ta­ne­ous­ly as hous­ing, as an emer­gency exit from the dwelling in the event of an avalanche, and as guard posts to pro­tect against fre­quent intru­sions.