Description of the attraction
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, it can be reliably said that primitive people have settled in the Balzi Rossi caves since the time of 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 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 people - 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 of Grotta 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 bone-carved figurines - the so-called Venuses - 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.
