Hohlenstein-Stadel

figure, one of the most spectacular finds from the cave, after restoration in 2013 The first excavations at Hohlenstein were made in 1861 by Oskar Fraas, geologist and paleontologist, who was searching for cave bear bones at the Bärenhöhle and the Stadel. He returned in 1866, realizing the archeological importance of the site. In 1935, archaeologists returned to excavate the cave. An initial trial dig under Robert Wetzel was followed by further work in 1936. Between 1937 and 1939 further excavations were conducted directed by Wetzel and Otto Völzing, a geologist. On the last day of digging, on 25 August 1939, Völzing found a large number of broken pieces of ivory. They were little noted and went into storage at the Museum Ulm. Further excavations followed in 1956 and 1957, and between 1959 and 1961. The stratigraphy includes layers from the Neolithic, Mesolithic, Upper Paleolithic, notably the Magdalenian and the Aurignacian periods and finally the Middle Paleolithic. In addition to the Lion-man figurine, pendants carved from mammoth ivory and perforated animal teeth dating from the Aurignacian have been uncovered at the cave. ==Archaeogenetics==

On August 27, 1937, excavators discovered the right femur diaphysis, measuring around in length, of an archaic hominin in the cave. The femur came from a layer associated with Middle Paleolithic Mousterian artefacts. This femur represents the only archaic hominin fossil found in a Mousterian context within the entire Swabian Jura region. Attempts to radiocarbon date the femur have yielded inconsistent results; however, molecular dating suggests that the femur is roughly 124,000 years old. ==UNESCO World Heritage Site==

In January 2016, the federal government of Germany applied for the status of World Heritage Site for two valleys with six caves named ("caves with the oldest Ice Age art"). The site would encompass areas in the Lonetal (valley of the Lone) and the Achtal (valley of the Ach), both in the southern Swabian Jura. The former includes the caves Hohlenstein-Stadel, Vogelherd and Bocksteinhöhle, the latter Geissenklösterle, Hohle Fels and Sirgenstein Cave. Each valley would contain a core area of around length, surrounded by a buffer zone of a least width. In the argument why these sites deserve recognition as a part of the universal human heritage, the area is described as the source of the currently oldest (non-stationary) works of human art in the form of carved animal and humanoid figurines as well as the oldest musical instruments. Their creators lived, were inspired, and worked in and around these caves. The caves also served as the repositories of the figurines which may have been used in a religious context. In addition, they were the venue where performers used the excavated musical instruments and where the social groups lived from which the artists sprang. ==References==