1.8 million-year-old human remains give southern Georgia's Orozmani site "international significance" after discovery

Archaeologists working at Orozmani site in southern Georgia's Dmanisi locality, an area known for its rich archaeological findings over the decades, have unearthed the first ancient human remains to be discovered at the former site.

The local municipality said on Thursday the finding of a lower tooth of a homo erectus, dated back 1.8 million years by scientists, was of "international significance" and meant the Orozmani site joined its Dmanisi counterpart as the earliest origin of early homo settlements outside the African continent.

The discovery was made at the location where digs have been ongoing since last year and resulted in findings of stone tools used by homo erectus as well as remains of extinct animals.

Giorgi Bidzinashvili, the Scientific Head of the Orozmani expedition (left) and Jumber Kopaliani, the overall lead of the work (second left), unveiled materials unearthed at the site to local media. Photo: Municipality Of Dmanisi

• See photographs of items discovered at the site here

Last year's discoveries were already credited by scientists to have "completely changed [the previous] understanding of the Orozmani site", with the Georgian National Museum saying the area was confirmed to having been "settled en masse by groups of Homo erectus during their migration from Africa to Eurasia".

Works at the Orozmani site were headed in 2021 by archaeologist Giorgi Bidzinashvili, who was later succeeded in the position by Jumber Kopaliani and instead continues his contributions as Scientific Head of the expedition.

Bidzinashvili was relieved of his position at the GNM network this year, as part of a series of controversial dismissals since the appointment of Thea Tsulukiani as the Culture Minister in spring of 2021.