Old Shuamta, Orthodox monastery in Kakheti region, Georgia

Old Shuamta is an Orthodox monastery complex with three stone churches set in the Gombori mountains of eastern Georgia. The site sits at about 1015 meters elevation among forests and contains a triple-naved basilica alongside two domed churches.

Founded in the 5th century, the monastery grew around a basilica and two domed churches added in the 7th century. In 1520 Tinatin Gurieli stopped here on her way to marry King Levan of Kakheti and founded New Shuamta nearby, after which this site became Old Shuamta. The old monastery was already deserted by the 16th century.

The name Shuamta combines the Georgian words shua (middle) and mta (mountain), meaning a place between or among the mountains. The monastery was already standing when Tinatin Gurieli passed through in 1520 on her way to marry King Levan of Kakheti; she founded a new convent nearby, and the older site became known as Old Shuamta. The basilica's altar screen of columns, in use from the 6th to the 9th century, survives unaltered.

The complex stands at 1015 metres on a forested slope in the Gombori mountains, about 5 kilometres west of Telavi; the Georgian source gives 7 kilometres, so allow for a longer approach. The three churches sit close together, with the basilica's south and north doors forming a passage through to the domed church. Sturdy shoes help on the uneven ground.

The 7th-century domed church is a reduced copy of Jvari near Mtskheta, about 11 by 9 metres, with four apses and four corner chambers but no decoration. Its smaller neighbour, also 7th-century, may have served as the prototype for the 10th-century Kvetera church in northern Kakheti.