Dmanisi archaeological Museum-Reserve (Region of Kvemo Kartli)
Dmanisi archaeological Museum-Reserve (Georgian: დმანისის მუზეუმ-ნაკრძალი) – The historical monument includes the ruins of a medieval town – Dmanisi settlement (Georgian: დმანისის ნაქალაქარი), archaeological field, medieval fortress and church of IX – XIII centuries. Among the religious buildings it is worth mentioning Dmanisi Sioni (Georgian: დმანისის სიონი), a 6th century church with unique gates decorated with ornaments and inscriptions of the 13th century. During this period Dmanisi, built on a promontory at the confluence of the Mashavera (Georgian: მაშავერა) and Finezauri (Georgian: ფინეზაური) rivers, was one of the most powerful cities. From the east and south, the city was surrounded by a wall with high towers built of basalt stone and fortified with semicircular piers. The Mashavera River valley protected it from the north and west. Ruins of a palace, bathhouse and other buildings have been preserved on the territory of the settlement. On the western side of the city, along the bank of the Mashavera River, there was a secret tunnel, which was camouflaged and protected.
Neighborhood Dmanisi settlement has been inhabited since the early Bronze Age. In the wall of one of the agricultural pits from the Middle Ages, archaeologists found bones of early Pleistocene animals. As a result of subsequent excavations, the first stone tools and the first remains of an ancient man – a lower jaw – were found. At the present stage of research, the paleoanthropological finds of Dmanisi represent one of the richest and most complete collections in the world. It is represented by 5 hominid skulls, 4 mandibles, 15 isolated teeth and 35 fragments of various parts of the skeleton. In-depth analysis of archaeological materials has shown , that in the the Stone Age., in the territory settlement of Dmanisi lived the earliest humans in Eurasia (Homo georgicus)They are 1 million 760,000 years old. Thanks to the abundance of hominids and their artifacts, the remains of prehistoric animals, Museum Reserve of Dmanisi is a unique monument.
Patara Dmanisi Village (Georgian: სოფელი პატარა დმანისი), Dmanisi Municipality (Georgian: დმანისის მუნიციპალიტეტი)