Hučivá diera

Fig. 1. The entrance portal before its closure with metal bars.

The Hučivá Cave, measuring 16 m in length, is located in the Eastern Tatras, within the Belianske Tatras range. The first finds of modern sherds were recovered in the 1970s by local speleologists associated with the Slovak Speleological Society – Spišská Belá Caving Group. In their unsuccessful attempt to connect the cave with the nearby Belianska Cave, they uncovered an irregular profile of cave sediments at the rear of the cave. Within these sediments, we later identified similarly dated ceramic material from the Early Modern period.

At the end of 2018, two overfired layers containing isolated pottery from the 16^th century were documented in the aforementioned profile. Cleaning the profile revealed the first lithic artefact in the lower carbon layer, followed by three additional artefacts. The investigation of this first prehistoric cave site in the Tatra Mountains was briefly interrupted, and preparations for an interdisciplinary archaeological investigation began.

Fig. 2. Profile with buried hearth during the 2019 excavation.

In the summer of 2019, the first excavation was conducted under the leadership of the Institute of Archaeology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (M. Soják), and the Jagiellonian University in Kraków (P. Valde-Nowak), with the participation of local PhD students and archaeology students. Research continued in 2022 and 2024. The cave was systematically surveyed and divided into a 1 × 1 m square grid, further subdivided into four smaller sectors measuring 0.5 × 0.5 m. Excavation for scientific and documentation purposes began in the rear section of a small corridor, where the disturbed sediments and the first recovered stone artefacts were located. Work then shifted to the entrance portal due to the construction of a metal shutter, a barred gate intended to restrict access to the cave.

Fig. 3. Lithic industry of the Magdalenian culture.

In the rear section of the cave, beneath the vent stack, the remains of a buried hearth with an extensive artefact inventory were examined in detail over three research seasons. The artefacts were dominated by a lithic assemblage. Smaller finds included two bone needles with drilled eyes, two perforated fossil shells, a fragment of a sandstone oil lamp with detected organic residues, and a groove-decorated bone piercer. The hearth contained distinct charcoals, pieces of ochre, and numerous bones of hunted animals. Collaborators included a geologist (M. Orvošová), a sedimentologist (L. Lisá), a palynologist (A. Wacnik), a palaeobotanist (M. Hajnalová), and a palaeontologist (A. Nadachowski et al.). Radiocarbon dating of organic remains was conducted in Poznań, DNA analysis of selected animal bones in Warsaw, and sediment samples are currently undergoing analysis in Stockholm.

Fig. 4. Bone needle from the cave.

The absolute age of the charcoals and animal bones is linked to the Bølling Interstadial, dating to approximately 12,200 BC. The lithic industry is specific to the Magdalenian culture but does not find analogues in collections from the eastern province of this culture in the Czech Republic or neighbouring Bohemia. Instead, parallels exist with material from England, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. Characteristic tools include shouldered points with and without faint notches, closely resembling those of the Creswellian culture, the British Late Magdalenian. Other tools include blades with or without retouch, backed blades, drills, perforators, burins, and endscrapers. Debitage, mostly from tool repair, was not abundant. Only three significantly exploited flat cores were recovered. In terms of raw materials, Pieniny radiolarite from the Klippen Belt dominates, followed by Polish flint types (Chocolate, Jurassic-Cracow, Volhynian, and Bircza). Occasional limnosilicite of uncertain provenance (possibly the Žiar Basin) and hornblende of the Krumlov Forest type were also identified. Notably, obsidian is absent, suggesting a lack of connections with the more easterly regions of Slovakia.

Fig. 5. Drilled fossil gastropod from the cave.

Among Magdalenian sites in Slovakia, the most prominent examples are located in the Poprad Basin, in the Upper Spiš region. Early surface finds were documented at Toporec, where a collection of blades made from Bircza-type flint was discovered. Subsequent investigations revealed a workshop camp at Stará Ľubovňa, where radiolarite was mined (evidenced by pings and semi-finished products) in the nearby Lesopark. Further artefacts were later recovered from a site near Jarabina. Magdalenian finds from other regions in Slovakia, such as Plavecký Mikuláš – Deravá/Dzeravá Skala and Dubová, remain unverified and require re-evaluation, as do modest finds of bone and stone from Haligovce – Aksamitka Cave (Aurignacian or Magdalenian?).

Fig. 6. Fragment of a sandstone lamp with organic residue.

One surprising aspect of the Hučivá Cave site is the spectrum of documented animals that were hunted by Magdalenian communities. Osteological analysis shows a predominance of Alpine ibex (Capra ibex), indicating a specialised hunting focus. Other species include horse and brown bear, alongside deer, lynx, small mammals, and swans. Further analyses will determine whether animal hides were processed at the site, as suggested by a pit containing numerous lime layers. Intentional marks on bones, such as cuts, scrape marks, and breaks for marrow extraction, further attest to human activity.

Research at this remarkable site is ongoing.

Marián Soják, Paweł Valde-Nowak