National Prehistoric Museum ”Balzi Rossi” (Museo Nazionale Preistorico dei Balzi Rossi) description and photos - Italy: Ventimiglia (Topic)

National Prehistoric Museum "Balzi Rossi" (Museo Nazionale Preistorico dei Balzi Rossi) description and photos - Italy: Ventimiglia. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Museo Nazionale Preistorico dei Balzi Rossi.

Photo and description

The National Prehistoric Museum "Balzi Rossi" is a caves near Ventimiglia, located almost on the very border with France, at one of the most important archaeological sites in Europe. The caves are located near the village of Grimaldi - they are formed in a high cliff that drops abruptly into the sea. They got their name for the red color of the walls. The first explorers of these places were the French scientist De Saussure and Prince Florestano I of Monaco. And already at the end of the 19th century, on the initiative of the Englishman Thomas Hanbury, who was in love with this part of Liguria, an archaeological museum was created.

Today we can reliably say for sure that primitive people settled in the Balzi Rossi caves since the Lower Paleolithic , and during the Upper Paleolithic, they were adapted for a crypt. The museum, with its models of grottoes in different periods of time, provides a unique opportunity to trace the history of the local settlements. And among the most notable places can be called the "Tripliche Sepoltura" - the Triple Grave, which was discovered in the grotto of Barma Grande. The grave contained the remains of an unusually tall adult man - 190 cm, as well as two young men - all of them were buried in the same pit. Various funerary objects were found in the same grave. Another important burial is located in the grotto dei Fanciulli - there were discovered the skeletons of two children and a huge number of shells. The human remains found in the caves belong to the so-called Grimaldi race and belong to the Cro-Magnon group.

In the grottoes of Barma Grande and Principe, 15 figurines carved from bones - the so-called Venus, were also found. which are female figurines with large breasts and hips, which were probably a symbol of fertility. Important finds are the fossil remains of elephants, rhinos and hippos, as well as reindeer (the latter belong to a later geological period). And one of the most interesting sights of Balzi Rossi is the image of Przewalski's horse, made by a primitive artist about 20 thousand years ago.

Topic: National Prehistoric Museum ”Balzi Rossi” (Museo Nazionale Preistorico dei Balzi Rossi) description and photos - Italy: Ventimiglia.