Discovery at Orozmani archaeological site: 1.8-million-year-old human lower jaw unearthed in Georgia

A 1.8-million-year-old human lower jaw has been discovered during international archaeological excavations at Orozmani. The Georgian National Agency for Cultural Heritage Protection announced on Thursday.

According to the agency, the discovery site was visited by Davit Lortkipanidze, Director General of the Georgian National Museum, and Konstantine Pitskhelauri, Head of the Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Research Service of the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Protection of Georgia.

“The expedition team, led by archaeologist Giorgi Bidzinashvili, based on a permit issued by the agency on November 29, 2024, discovered a human lower jaw in layers dated to 1.8 million years at an archaeological site on the territory of the village of Kvemo Orozmani in Dmanisi municipality. This discovery presumably belongs to early Homo erectus.

Excavations are taking place in archaeological layers dating 1.84-1.77 million years, precisely in the territory where the same expedition discovered a human tooth in 2022. Excavations resumed in July 2025 and will continue until the end of September.

The expedition includes professional archaeologists alongside students from Georgia, the USA, France, Denmark, Colombia, and Kazakhstan,” writes the Georgian National Agency for Cultural Heritage Protection.