Dmanisi Municipality
Dmanisi in Kvemo Kartli: 1.8-million-year-old hominins, the medieval city and Dmanisi Sioni, highland lakes. History and routes.
Dmanisi Municipality — overview
MunicipalityHistory
Dmanisi Municipality lies in the south-west of the Kvemo Kartli region, on the uplands of southern Georgia, with the town of Dmanisi as its administrative centre, at about 1,250 m above sea level and roughly 90 km south-west of Tbilisi. The municipality covers about 1,200 km² of low mountain ranges and plateaus, forested in the east; in the west the Javakheti Range rises to about 3,000 m. The Mashavera River flows through the area. Dmanisi borders Tsalka to the north, Tetritskaro to the north-east, Bolnisi and Ninotsminda municipalities, and Armenia to the south.
Dmanisi is world-famous for its hominin fossils. Since 1991, excavations at the medieval site have uncovered human remains about 1.8 million years old — the oldest hominins found outside Africa. Several skulls were recovered between 1991 and 2005, including the remarkably complete Skull 5, found in 2005 and published in 2013. The finds changed scientific views on the earliest human migration out of Africa. The Dmanisi Hominid Archaeological Site has been on UNESCO’s Tentative List since 2007.
The same promontory, at the confluence of the Mashavera and Pinezauri rivers, holds the ruins of the medieval town of Dmanisi. First recorded in the 9th century, when it belonged to the Arab emirate of Tbilisi, it was taken by the Seljuks in the 1080s and recaptured for Georgia by David the Builder and his son Demetrius I in 1123–1125. Dmanisi flourished as a trade town on caravan routes, but was devastated by Timur in the late 14th century and sacked again in 1486, after which it declined. Its main surviving church, Dmanisi Sioni, received a narthex in the early 13th century under King George IV.
The site is protected as the Dmanisi Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve, run by the Georgian National Museum, and is open to visitors from May to October. In the 19th century the area was settled by Dukhobors, and the modern settlement was long known as Bashkichet. Today the municipality has more than 190 historical monuments, mostly medieval, and highland lakes such as Karagoli and the Pantiani reservoir.
For travellers, Dmanisi offers a unique combination: the place where humanity’s earliest journey out of Africa is documented, and a medieval city above a dramatic river gorge. Visit the museum-reserve during the summer season, combine it with Bolnisi Sioni on the way from Tbilisi, and enjoy the open landscapes of the southern uplands.
FAQ
1) Where is Dmanisi Municipality located?
In the south-west of Kvemo Kartli, on the uplands bordering Armenia.
2) What is the administrative centre?
The town of Dmanisi, at about 1,250 m above sea level.
3) Why is Dmanisi famous?
For hominin fossils about 1.8 million years old — the oldest found outside Africa.
4) When were the hominins discovered?
Excavations have yielded hominin remains since 1991; Skull 5 was found in 2005.
5) Is Dmanisi a UNESCO site?
The Dmanisi Hominid Archaeological Site has been on UNESCO’s Tentative List since 2007.
6) What is medieval Dmanisi?
A trade town first recorded in the 9th century, recaptured by David the Builder and Demetrius I in 1123–1125.
7) What is Dmanisi Sioni?
The main church of the medieval town; its narthex was added in the early 13th century.
8) When can the museum-reserve be visited?
It is open to visitors from May to October.
9) Which lakes are in the municipality?
Karagoli and the Pantiani reservoir.
10) Where can I find official municipal information?
On the municipality’s official website.