On the Rural Fabric of Zemo (Upper) Omalo and Transformation of the Tradishional Dwelling

Old settlement of the village Omalo (2km. from the present village centre), located in the middle of Tusheti (eastern Georgian highlands), provides interesting material concerning the transformation of its architecture by diverse factors. This settlement sheltering on a cliffy slope, formed by fortifies houses and surmounted by the Keselo (i.e. firm) fortress, is the oldest in Omalo, combining residential and defence functions.
Old fortifies houses are built of the local stone and provided with the stone gable roofs, thick walls and small apertures; grouped together, they were arranged on terraces as late as 1880 (as evidenced by old photos). The houses are of an elongated rectangular plan, with several floors (mainly, three-storied), arched doors and rectangular (seldom, pointed arched) windows, wooden logs or large stones embodied in the masonry above the apertures and are plastered with the combination of clay and earth; rounded corners (of apothropeic function and as a counter-avalanche measure) are also found. Such elements as triangular structural framework on the facades and round stones with a hole (at present they are used to tether cattle) have symbolic and structural significance.
In the first quarter of the 20th c. two-storied, horizontally developed houses with large windows, balconies often supported by stone columns and corridors on the ground floor were built. Often these houses were constructed on the ruins of the old fortified houses, preserving traditional building technique. It is certain that these houses (sometimes one-storied, sometimes, provided with the inscriptions naming the date of construction, name of the builder and-or owner of the house).
Mass-migration of the population from Tusheti in 1950-70s resulted in the collapse of the old house and construction of summer houses - one-storied structures covered with tin or asbestos and provided with glassed balconies or attics; these houses disfigure traditional ensemble and lack any artistic merits. From 1980s onwards, up to present, efforts are taken to combine old, traditional building technique and new demands, which often contributes to the eclectic character of the structures.