The central and eastern parts of ancient Urbnisi are occupied by the present village; the territory to the west remained untouched and so survived. Urbnisi is mentioned in Georgian written sources in the Hellenistic era. Archaeological research on the territory of present Urbnisi and its surroundings has revealed traces of human activity from the 3rd millennium BC. Traces of a large, quite powerful settlement appear at the turn of the 2nd and 1st millennia BC. Probably from the middle of the 1st millennium BC a dense settlement arose here through the merging of habitations, which may be regarded as the town's first form. By the 4th century BC Urbnisi is referred to as a town