The discovery of the remains of Homo Georgicus at Dmanisi has been an important step in research into the origins of man in Europe, since these remains bear witness to the occupation of the site by a hominid species of the Ergaster type some one million eight hundred thousand years ago.

This discovery has shown that early man’s “migration from Africa” took place much earlier than previously thought. Moreover, the quality of the stratigraphy at Dmanisi, which has meant the perfect conservation of the flora and fauna associated with the human remains, has allowed agreement on the dating of the finds from the excavations to take place and the complete reconstruction of the environment once lived in by Homo Georgicus.

It was against this background that the National Museum of Georgia requested the French Government to organize a consultancy mission, carried out by Jean-Pierre Mohen and Jean François Milou, to assist in drawing up a project to develop the Dmanisi site.

This mission, which took place in March 2004, led to the drawing-up of a long-term development plan for the site in consultation with Georgian professionals. The final version of this plan will be decided following consultation with representatives of the village of Dmanisi and the institutions responsible for the development of the site.

David Lordkipanidze and the Dmanisi project won the Rolex Prize in 2004  https://www.rolex.org/rolex-awards/cultural-heritage/david-lordkipanidze

In 2007, the archaeological site of Dmanisi was listed in the UNESCO World Heritage site tentative list https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5225/