ANCIENT CAVE TOWN

Evening Star, Issue 20585, 10 September 1930, Page 12

ANCIENT CAVE TOWN

■ FORTY THOUSAND YEARS AGO DISCOVERY IN HUNGARY. Near the town of Esztergom, the seat of the Prince-Primates of Hungary, a cave town has been excavated which, according to the experts, dates 40,000 years back. Tho first prehistoric cave was discovered about twenty years ago and was called the Jankovich Cave, after the then Minister of Education. But tho war and the Communist rule prevented tb; excavation being continued. The ex-Ministcr, Mela Jankovich, has now subscribed a substantial sum for the resumption of tho work, and Professor Istvan Gaal, from the National Museum, lias gone to Bajot, where the Jankovich Cave is situated, to superintend tho work. Tho new excavations, for which tho miners of Dorog—the poorest community of workers in all Hungary -have been employed, show important results. Ten other caves have been discovered in the neighbourhood of the Jankovich Cave, most of them communicating with each other. The second cave, which is being cleared, appears to consist of a hall about 60yds wide, and skeletons of cave bears, snow woodcocks, and animals resembling Arctic Axes, all from the ico period, have been unearthed. Thj larger bones of those animals* have *been split their full length and roasted, which points to the cave men enjoying marrow. In tho first cave beautifully carved and engraved bone implements, of which few examples have been found in Eurppe, have been discovered, and some of them have already been sent to tho Budapest National Museum. A museum containing duplicates of the implements will shortly bo arranged in Bajot itself, which is a favourite resort of tourists interested in arclucology.