Repairs on old Tbilisi house reveals age-old ‘refrigerator’

A self-made space for storing food before the invention of modern refrigerators has been discovered under one of the old houses in Georgia's capital Tbilisi that has been undergoing repair and rehabilitation to bring the old buildings back to life.

Workers repairing the house at 32 Dadiani St were stunned to find an underground storage area after removing the floor of the building's first storey.

Tbilisi historians identified the area as a space probably used by local residents to store their food in cool conditions, long before refrigerators were invented.

The space could be accessed via a short staircase leading down. Photo from Tiflis Hamkari/Facebook.

The oval-shaped space was dug out into the ground and could be accessed by a short staircase leading down into the storage space.

The age of the food storage area was not immediately known. It was discovered by workers of the Tbilisi Development Fund, who are carrying out restoration works in homes in the city’s Old Town.

The space will probably be preserved due to its historical value. Photo from Tiflis Hamkari/Facebook.

Tbilisi historical community Tiflis Hamkari said the food storage space could be older than the house it was found beneath. The historians noted the type of compartment was already known after being discovered in nearby houses built in the capital a century ago or earlier.

The area under the house will probably now be preserved as a historical site.

The renovation and repair works in Tbilisi in recent months has resulted in the discovery of several historical creations including 100-year-old paintings in hallways in the Old Town district houses.