Caves and Ice Age Art

The Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura comprise archaeological sites from the Aurignacian period where stone tools, figurative art and early musical instruments have been found.

These six caves in the Ach Valley and along the Lone River have produced evidence of the presence of modern humans who arrived in Europe some 43,000 years ago. The discovered objects were carved from various materials, including mammoth ivory. They include the figurines of the ‘Venus of Hohle Fels’ and the ‘Lion Man’.

Community Perspective: The findings were amazing, but unfortunately they are moveable and have been shipped to museums long ago. A visit won’t be complete without a visit to one of those – the Urgeschichtliches Museum in Blaubeuren is recommended. Among the actual caves, Hohle Fels is the most impressive; Hubert gives a good overview of them all. Nan has described how to get around the area on public transport and Clyde provided an itinerary by car.