Description
The 72 m long Merkenstein Cave is located below the ruins of Merkenstein Castle in the municipality of Gainfarn near Bad Vöslau, at the foot of a rock face made of Triassic limestone. Franz Mühlhofer, retired k. u. k. officer and amateur archaeologist, carried out excavations in the cave in 1932 and on the forecourt in 1933. In his finds report, he mentions that in the central part of the cave - he speaks of a "newly opened hall" - there was a sequence of cultural layers with finds dating back almost 12,000 years under a layer of garbage from the late Middle Ages and early modern period, which was apparently brought in through a shaft from the kitchen of Merkenstein Castle.
Layer by layer into the past
Beneath the medieval kitchen waste were pottery shards from the Latène culture of the Late Iron Age (450 to 15 BC), including finds from the Early Iron Age or Hallstatt culture (750 to 450 BC). Next came sherds from the Bronze Age, which in turn lay on finds from the Copper Age Baden culture (around 3500 to 2700 BC). There were numerous finds from the Middle and Early Neolithic periods, which came to light under the Copper Age layer. Finally, the lowest layer contained stone tools from the end of the Palaeolithic period, which are around 12,000 years old, as well as bones from Ice Age animals such as the cave bear, cave lion and cave hyena.
From the bear cave to the cult cave
The Ice Age animal bones certainly come from animals that lived here or were brought in as prey. The Palaeolithic stone tools also point to a hunting trip. However, cave finds from more recent periods are rather unusual. Perhaps the Merkenstein cave was visited for ritual purposes. There is evidence of this from other caves in the Eastern Alps, at least for the Early Iron Age.
