Dmanisi

Dmanisi occupies a promontory between two river gorges where a medieval town stood, and excavation of that town in the 1980s found something older beneath it: stone tools, animal bones and then hominin remains, including several well-preserved skulls, dated to around one point eight million years, the earliest securely dated hominins found outside Africa. The finds reshaped arguments about when and how early humans first left the continent. The site is open with a shelter over the main excavation, a small museum and the ruins of the medieval town including a basilica and fortifications on the same promontory, with the gorges dropping away on either side.

What you actually see

• The excavation under shelter - the layers where the skulls were found.
• The earliest hominins outside Africa - remains dated to about 1.8 million years.
• The medieval town above - basilica and fortifications on the promontory.
• The gorge setting - rivers on both sides of the site.

When to go

May to October; excavation seasons run in summer and the site is more interesting when work is under way. Half a day including the drive. Check opening days before travelling.

Honest expectations

The original skulls are in Tbilisi, not here; the site shows casts and the excavation itself. Opening hours are limited and it closes in winter. Interpretation is basic. Getting there needs a car and the last roads are rough.

Nearby

Bolnisi is east; Tbilisi lies north-east.