MONACO NEIGHBOURHOOD
© Museo Preistorico dei Balzi Rossi
Copy of female statuette of the Upper Palaeolithic – Balzi Rossi , Italy
Double-burial of the Children ’ s Cave : adult female of about 40 and a teenager of about 15 dating 25,000 years ago ( Excavation at Balzi Rossi , Italy , by L . de Villeneuve . 1901 ) ( c )
© Musée d ’ Anthropologie Préhistorique de Monaco
A further testimony of exceptional importance is the Engraving of the Horse in Caviglione ’ s Cave , an integral part of the current route of the visit . You will need a sharp eye to detect on the rock a series of zoomorphic linear incisions depicting the shape of a powerful animal body and a donkey-like muzzle . Found in 1971 , it represents one of the rare examples of Palaeolithic art in Italy .
Another distinguished discovery at Balzi Rossi consists of a series of female statuettes of around 5 cm high , the so-called Venuses .
These prehistoric artefacts , preserved partly on site , partly in Monaco and partly at the Museum of National Antiquities in Paris , have been considered as symbols of motherhood and fertility . What is amazing about these figurines is that similar ones were found in different parts across Europe . Undoubtedly , the statuettes of ‘ fat ladies ’ unearthed at Balzi Rossi have features in common with all the others , thus this artistic production is representing one of the signatures connecting populations from the Russian plains to the Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea shores .
© Museo Preistorico dei Balzi Rossi
Balzi Rossi provides also important geological information and clues about the evolution of fauna .
The Triple Burial found in the Great ‘ Barma ’– Balzi Rossi , Italy
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