It is the best studied site in the hinterland of an ancient region, known to the Classical world as Colchis, and has been inscribed on the list of the Immovable Cultural Monuments of National Significance.

The Vani site is situated at the western outskirts of the modern town, on Akhvlediani Gora, a low terraced triangular hill of approximately 8.5 ha, flanked on two sides by deep ravines.

[2] The foothills around Vani form the point of the nearly triangular wetland region of Colchis, the base of which is along the eastern Black Sea coast, dotted by Greek colonies in antiquity.

[5] Layers dated to the first phase (c. 800–600 BC) have yielded fragments of baked daub with wicker imprints, pottery—wheel-made, well-baked, black-fired, and polished on the surface—and terracotta figurines of various animals.

The principal sanctuary on the hilltop had been destroyed and burnt and the ritual ditches had ceased to function; new stone buildings appear including a circuit wall.

In addition, traditional Colchis pottery gives way to new forms, notably pear-shaped jugs with red paint on a light ground, familiar in eastern Georgia, anciently known as Iberia, and Greek influence becomes more prominent on the goldwork.

The gate, sanctuary with its mosaic floor, the stepped altar, and the round temple on the central terrace of the hill exhibit signs of violence and conflagration: walls razed to the foundation, fired stones, baked tiles and mudbrick, and charred beams.

[22] An alternative hypothesis, suggested by Otar Lordkipanidze, has it that Vani is the site of the temple of Leucothea in Colchis reported by Strabo as being sacked by Pharnaces II of Pontus and then by Mithridates of Pergamum.

Opponents point to the fact that, according to Strabo, the temple was close to the common border of Colchis, Iberia, and Armenia; the location does not suit Vani.