1.8 million-year old girl displayed in Dmanisi

The Georgian National Museum (GNM) invited visitors to see the reconstructed 1.8 million-year old girl at Dmanisi Museum-Reserve on June 27. Davit Lortkipanidze, General Director of GNM, welcomed local and international visitors to the amazing world of ancient Georgian civilization. “Dmanisi is a unique museum in which visitors have a wonderful opportunity to see the latest achievements of modern science. The reserve is definitely not purely for scientists however as we try to make it interesting for all visitors, especially children. I hope that the new exhibit, reconstructed by French sculptor Elisabeth Daynes, will interest our guests,” Lortkipanidze told the media, proposing to give the "daughter" of the famous Mzia and Zezva, (the oldest human beings ever discovered) an appropriate name.

Elisabeth Daynes has reconstructed the whole body of the girl, who would have been aged around 13 or 14, on the basis of its bones, found at Dmanisi in 2001. On receiving congratulations Elisabeth shared the details of this four month process with the media. “I’m very pleased to work with Davit Lortkipanidze on this project because it is a very important discovery which has changed the world's view of ancient human beings. I worked in a similar way to crime scene analysts - the girl was very well preserved and it was fantastic for me, because when the skull is intact it makes it easier for me to work on it. I feel that the Georgian archaeological sites haven't yet revealed all their secrets and this site is so exceptional that every new find is in an extraordinary state of preservation,” Daynes said, adding that the skull of a man recently discovered in Dmanisi is really fantastic and work on reconstructing this will also begin in the near future.

The girl is so important for historical study that GPI Holding has taken on the responsibility of ensuring the safety of the first European young adult. “This is definitely a very important project in terms of cooperation between GPI Holding and the National Museum. The exhibit has worldwide importance so we are proud to be part of this event,” Tinatin Stambolishvili, Head of the GPI Holding Press Centre, told The Messenger.

Per Eklund, Ambassador and Head of the Delegation of the EU to Georgia, was among the special guests at the presentation. “I think this is a very interesting place which of course asks us to acknowledge the importance of human beings. It’s very good place for visitors and I think there is still a lot of excavation to be done. The reconstruction of the girl is very exciting and also very informative,” the Ambassador told us.

The medieval town of Dmanisi, rich in internationally famous discoveries, welcomes further visitors.