A 16,000-year-old formal entry to an Ice Age cave near Engen, Germany, has been found, according to researchers.
Archaeologists have known about the cave since the 1970s, but the original entrance was not found until recently. When a sewage line was being built at the time, a hole was unintentionally blown into the cave ceiling, but the cave was not further investigated.
During the first six weeks of the new digs, which started in 2021, archaeologists obtained more information, but the original cave entrance remained a mystery.
The researchers, in partnership with the University of Heidelberg, measured the underground in April 2023 and found that the cave is significantly larger than previously assumed. It is said to be twenty meters deep and several meters high. The cave's previously underground entrance was discovered by the study team.
The discovery, according to Dr. Yvonne Tafelmaier of the University of Tübingen, is sensational. Tafelmaier claims that it is an unusual circumstance. It's unusual to discover a location that hasn't been well investigated by researchers.
The newly discovered cave is a part of a large group of caves in the so-called Ice Age Park close to Engen. Along with being a late Ice Age site and well-known hiking destination, the Gnirs Cave and Petersfels are also noteworthy. The age of the Petersfels is between 13,000 to 15,000 years. Amazing discoveries from the last Ice Age were already being made at the time. According to Tagesschau, "The archaeologists are now looking for the same from the next huge cave.
Photo: State Office for the Preservation of Monuments in the Regional Council of Stuttgart/Photo: Simon Werner
"We already know that there are settlement remnants from the late Ice Age there, and we hope to find even more, such as stone tools, perhaps jewelry, and art remains," Tafelmaier says.
The cave's entrance is still blocked by a substantial amount of earth. The soil covering the cave entrance is being inspected right now. The researchers hope to enter the cave's interior in the upcoming year.
The decision has been reached to keep the entrance closed until the next year, when specialists will examine the cave's interior, in order to prevent any form of destruction by unauthorized individuals.
