Veľká ružínska cave

Fig. 1. Entrance portal.

In 2025, the second season of multidisciplinary excavation of the Veľká ružínska Cave continued, following up on the results from 2023. The excavated area from the first season in the back part of the cave was expanded. It brought very important data about the Palaeolithic occupation, which has not yet been clearly confirmed (Nemergut et al., in press).

Fig. 2. Excavation of the layer.

The latest occupation is associated with the remains of a hearth from the modern age. The youngest prehistoric finds are from the Neolithic. Activity during this period was relatively intense, as another hearth and several postholes were found in a row (Fig. 3). A deep pit was detected below (Fig. 4), which recess to layer 16, the Palaeolithic “cultural” layer identified by S. Roth at the end of the 19th century (Kadič 1934, 10–14). The oldest finds of the lithic industry were contained in a layer just above the bedrock, dated over then 43 ka uncal BP. The bedrock was only reached in the western half of the trench, and not over the entire area, as there is a deep “depression” with fine-grained alluvial sediments (Fig. 5), from where a sample was taken for OSL dating.

Fig. 3. Neolithic finding situation.

Archaeological finds represent fragments of pottery, lithic industry and a few probably worked animal bones. The find material is complemented by numerous animal bones and archaeobotanical remains in the form of charcoal. In addition, samples were taken from individual layers/contexts for further analyses of phytoliths, pollen, soot, sedimentary eDNA, biomarkers, genesis and post-depositional processes of geological layers and absolute ¹⁴C, OSL dating.

Fig. 3. A pit which recess to layer 16, the dark Palaeolithic “cultural” layer identified by S. Roth.

Institutions participating in the research: Archeologický ústav SAV, v. v. i.; Geologický ústav AV ČR; Katedra Archeológie FF UKF v Nitre; Max Planck institute; Prírodovedecká fakulta UK; Slovenské múzeum ochrany prírody a jaskyniarstva; Štátny geologický ústav Dionýza Štúra and Ústav vied o Zemi SAV, v. v. i.

Fig. 4. Western profile.

References:

Kadič 1934 – O. Kadič: Der Mensch zur Eiszeit in Ungarn. Budapest 1934.

Nemergut et al., in press – A. Nemergut/M. Soják/L. Lisá/M. Hajnalová/R. Putiška/M. Sabol/B. Hromadová/L. Popovičová: Archeologický výskum Veľkej ružínskej jaskyne. AVANS 2023, in press.

Adrián Nemergut