Kvajvari
Kvajvari or Kva-jvari is a monumental tombstone in the shape of a cross in the Georgian Christian tradition. The word kvajvari is composed of the words "kva", meaning stone, and ‘cvari’, meaning cross, and means "cross stone".
The tip of the kvajvari was inserted into a stone pedestal to keep it firmly in place at the head of the grave. Although commonly used as a gravestone, this monumental stone was also erected as a marker of a place of worship or to commemorate an important religious event that took place there. Such stones have been found in the Lower Kartli and Upper Kartli regions since the early Christian period. Located in the village of Gudarekhi in the Kvemo Kartli region, it is one of the notable monuments dating back to the 13th century. The kvajvari also bore an inscription. Few examples of kvajvari have survived to the present day, including those from the region known as Tao-Klarjeti, which lies within the borders of Turkey on the historical Georgian lands.
Within the borders of Tao-Klarjeti, in 1904, Nikolay Marr, who was traveling through the Shavsheti and Klarjeti regions, discovered a whitish cross stone in the upper reaches of Norgieli, in a place called "Kollu Taş". It is understood from this discovery that the name "Kollu Taş" refers to "kvajvari", as kvajvaris were called "kollu taş" in this region. According to the information provided by Marr, the cross stones found at Kollu Taş were blown up, but some remained intact. Marr also mentioned three large cross stones leaning against the wall next to the entrance door of the Armenian church in the village of Tandzoti. These stones had been brought by the priest of the church from the village of Gulija, which was inhabited by Turks at that time. Marr also photographed the cross stone in the village of Norgieli, which was inhabited by Georgians at that time.
Outside the Klarjeti and Shavsheti regions in Turkey, but within the borders of Tao-Klarjeti, a cross stone bearing a Georgian inscription was discovered by archaeologist Sami Patacı in the village of Kumlukoz in the district of Posof in Turkey. Found in a field, this cross stone bears an inscription written in the Asomtavruli characters of the Georgian alphabet, which mentions the name "Zakaria". According to Georgian historian Buba Kudava, the inscription reads ლო, / მხ / ეყვ / სლ ა / ზქ / რს / ა, / ან and can be dated to the 10th–11th centuries. In the historical region of Erusheti, in the village of Yukarıaydere, which today belongs to the district of Hanak, there are two ancient stones in a villager's house that belong to the Christian past of the village. One of them is a kvajvari, which has survived to the present day in a broken state. It bears part of a Georgian prayer text. The text, written in the Asomtavruli script of the Georgian alphabet, reads / ლცვ / ას / ამ / მჴს / ნთ and has been dated to the 13th–14th centuries. In the historical Tao region, in the village of Köroğlu, which is now part of the Şenkaya district and was formerly known as Thaskurki, the lower branch of the kvajvari has been broken. The Georgian Asomtavruli inscription on the stone asks Saint George to forgive someone is made. This stone is also dated to the 13th–14th centuries.