The Katskhi Pillar in Georgia is an impressive limestone monolith. It is located in the village of Katskhi, in the region of Imereti. The Katskhi Pillar is 40 meters tall and is about 10 kilometers from the mining town of Chiatura.
Before the adoption of Christianity, the pagan Georgians believed that the Pillar represented the local god of fertility. After the arrival of Christianity to Georgia in the 4th century, the rock started to describe seclusion. In these days people call it the Pillar of Life.
The Katskhi Pillar carries the remains of a small church built during the 6-8th centuries at its summit. Probably the Stylites were the early Christian ascetics who firstly placed a foot on top of pillars preaching and praying and built the church.
The only written record of the Katskhi pillar appeared in the text of a Georgian scholar in the 18th century. He mentioned about the church for its inaccessibility. Nevertheless, there are numerous local legends related to the pillar. One of them states that the top of the rock was linked to the dome of the Katskhi church by a long iron chain. According to the legend, it was at 1.5 km distance from the pillar.