Sometimes ...

you make the discovery of a lifetime. Homo erectus bilzingslebenensis is one such discovery. Around 370,000 years ago, he was camped on the northern edge of the Thuringian Basin, in what is now the municipality of Bilzingsleben in the district of Sömmerda.

As the first Bilzingslebener, so to speak, the Homo erectus Bilzingslebenensis This makes it one of the earliest human finds in Central and Northwest Europe.

Bilzingsleben experienced its archaeological sensation in 1972/73. Professor Dietrich Mania found the remains of a prehistoric man - homo erectus bilzingslebenensis - in the travertine rock of the old quarry.

To date, a total of 28 skull remains, a right lower jaw branch and 9 individual teeth of this early human have been found. Mania and his research group showed that the fossils can be assigned to homo erectus on the basis of their anatomical features. There are striking similarities between the "old Bilzingslebener" and the homo erectus finds Olduvai Huminid 9 from East Africa as well as the Peking and Java people. The Bilzingsleben stone channel is one of the most extraordinary archaeological and paleoanthropological sites in Europe. In 1972/73, Professor Dietrich Mania found the remains of a prehistoric man - homo erectus bilzingslebenensis - in the travertine rock of the old quarry. An impressive exhibition at the authentic site provides an insight into the life of prehistoric man, which has been reconstructed thanks to the numerous finds. The finds are among the earliest human remains in central and south-western Europe and are considered a sensation.