Georgian National Museum - Simon Janashia Museum of Georgia

The Simon Janashia Museum of Georgia, part of the Georgian National Museum, stands at 3 Shota Rustaveli Avenue in central Tbilisi, Georgia. It is the country's main museum of history and archaeology, named after the historian Simon Janashia. The museum traces its origins to the 19th-century Caucasian Museum founded in Tbilisi, and the present building on Rustaveli dates from the early 20th century. The permanent exhibitions run from prehistory to the medieval and modern periods. The Archaeological Treasury, a vault-like gallery, displays gold, silver and bronze objects from ancient Colchis and Iberia, including jewellery and ritual items from burials. One of the highlights is the material from Dmanisi, a site south-west of Tbilisi, where hominid skulls dated to about 1.8 million years ago are among the oldest found outside Africa. The collection also includes ancient pottery, tools, coins, early Christian items and medieval metalwork. The display approach is chronological, with archaeological finds arranged by period, and the Treasury is arranged thematically around precious metalwork. The Soviet Occupation exhibition hall inside the same building covers the period from 1921 to 1991 and is included in the ticket price of about GEL 40. The building has undergone refurbishment and the museum has modernised its galleries in recent years, with English labels in many rooms. Visitors should allow time for both the Treasury and the occupation exhibition, and last tickets are normally sold about half an hour before closing. The museum is a short walk from Freedom Square and the Parliament, making it an easy start for a day on Rustaveli Avenue.