Marius Robu

Ancient human footprints in Ciur-Izbuc Cave, Romania

In 1965, Ciur-Izbuc Cave in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania was discovered to contain about 400 ancient human footprints. At that time, researchers interpreted the footprints to be those of a man, woman and child who entered the cave by an opening which is now blocked but which was usable in antiquity. The age of the prints (≈10-15 ka BP) was based partly on their association with cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) footprints and bones, and the belief that cave bears became extinct near the end of the last ice age. Since their discovery, the human and bear evidence and the cave itself have attracted spelunkers and other tourists, with the result that the ancient footprints are in danger of destruction by modern humans. In an effort to conserve the footprints and information about them and to reanalyze them with modern techiques, Ciur-Izbuc Cave was restudied in summer of 2012. Modern results are based on fewer than 25% of the originally described human footprints, the rest having been destroyed. It is impossible to confirm some of the original conclusions. The footprints do not cluster about three different sizes, and the number of individuals is estimated to be six or seven. Two cases of bears apparently overprinting humans help establish antiquity, and C-14 dates suggest a much greater age than originally thought. Unfortunately, insufficient footprints remain to measure movement variables such as stride length. However, detailed three-dimensional mapping of the footprints does allow a more precise description of human movements within the cave.

Fossil population structure and mortality analysis of the cave bears from Urşilor Cave, north-western Romania

Research in cave bear palaeobiology focusing on population structure and mortality analysis may improve our understanding regarding the ecology of this species which vanished at the end of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3, prior to Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), if assessed populations are large enough. Such population is available in Urşilor Cave, from north-western Romania, known as one of the most rich and complex European MIS3 cave bear sites. From the palaeontological excavation, situated at the lower level of the cave (= Scientific Reserve), more than 210 cave bear isolated lower molars, 160 mandibles and almost 180 canines were extracted and analyzed. The results obtained on the wear stages of the studied molars and mandibles indicated an “L”-shaped curve and suggest a non-attritional death pattern and a bone assemblage juvenile dominated. Moreover, the sex-ratio of upper and lower canines indicates a net dominance of females (5.4 females: 1 male). Although a “catastrophic” death pattern was obtained for cave bears, the animals seem to have died diachronically (non-simultaneously), over a time span of more than 6000 years. The triangular graph of age distribution is not appropriate for death assemblages from traps such as karst caves, where taphonomic processes like predation or scavenging would have played a less important role.

Pădurea Craiului Mountains: Meziad Cave

Meziad Cave is known and studied since the late nineteenth century and has been developed for tourism at the beginning of the twentieth century. Today, part of its natural and cultural heritage revealed by scientists and cavers can be visited by tourists along a 1500 m path. Most of its chambers and passages are restricted to research for protection and conservation purposes. Meziad Cave is a landmark of the Pădurea Craiului Mountains (Apuseni Mountains, northwestern Romania) due to its diversity of scientific, aesthetic, and recreational values, such as: particular morphology characterized by huge voids, rare phosphate minerals related to the guano deposits, massive wind-controlled stalactites, some of the largest bat colonies in Romania, diverse and endemic subterranean fauna, and valuable paleontological and archeological remains.

Show Caves of Romania

From prehistoric times, caves have been used as shelters and places for cultural, religious, and ceremonial manifestation. There is no ancient culture that does not mention in its history at least once “the afterlife,” “the other world,” or “the underground world.” Starting with the eighteenth century, cave exploration and research began to reveal the subterranean beauty in all its elements: geology, biology, paleontology, archeology, and hydrology. In the last century, people started to use the caves for touristic purposes. Over the past decades, the concept of sustainable use of natural and cultural heritage has been introduced in show caves management to protect and preserve their heritage for future generations. In Romania, more than 12,500 caves have been discovered and explored. The first cave that opened its gates for tourism was Meziad Cave in 1903. Today, Romania has seventeen show caves, all included into a national protected area network. Apuseni Mountains and South Carpathians host most of the show caves of Romania, seven and eight, respectively. In these caves, the visitor has the opportunity to explore the ancient history of Europe and the today’s beautiful subterranean landscapes. Some show caves (i.e., Muierii, Ungurului, Meziad) are emblematic for the distant past, with traces of human activities or skeletal remains ranging in age from the Paleolithic to the Neolithic. Scărișoara Ice Cave allows the visitors to discover one of the world’s largest and oldest ice blocks, whereas Urșilor Cave is known for its important fossil assemblages, among which a cave bear skeleton in anatomic connection that is ca. 40,000 years old. All show caves of Romania host peculiar fauna and unique landscapes, and discovering their natural and cultural heritage while enjoying the beauty of the natural protected areas that host them is an experience worth taking.