Were there cave paintings on the Swabian Alb?
Photo: Hilde Jensen, University of Tübingen
During excavations in 1999, a painted limestone fragment the size of the palm of a hand was discovered at Hohle Fels near Schelklingen. The painting consists of two double rows of dark red spots, which were applied with a brush or a finger. "With great certainty the first convincing evidence for Palaeolithic cave paintings in Germany, and probably even in Central Europe." Professor Nicholas Conard, quoted from the Südkurier newspaper, 6.7.1999)
The stone can be associated with a layer dating from 13,000 years before present. It probably broke off just after the colour was applied to the cave wall and was covered by soil and rubble after some time. Similar pieces have been found before in this region, but they were not dated with certainty or associated with any specific layers.
The painted limestone hints at painted cave walls like those of southern France and Spain. If paintings once decorated Ice Age cave walls in the Swabian Alb, these artworks have vanished with the slow weathering of the limestone walls.
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