The status of this attraction of Simferopol is a monument of world importance (since 1947). Cave Chokurcha — is the most ancient human dwelling on the territory of Europe, here about 40 thousand years ago people of the Paleolithic era — Neanderthals — took shelter from predators, made tools, gathered around the fire. For the first time in the USSR skeletons of this type of man were found here.
To see such an amazing, unique place, located just two kilometers from Simferopol today anyone can. Even samples of the art of ancient man — rock paintings — have been preserved here.
Tens of thousands of years ago, the cave reached a length of at least 15 meters, today the depth of the grotto is about 5 meters, and width — about 7 meters. The first excavations began here in 1927: geologist P.I. Dvoichenko and archaeologist S.I. Zabnin discovered skeletons of Neanderthals, their household items, hunting tools, as well as bones of the most ancient animals, representatives of long extinct fauna: cave hyena, wild horse, primitive bull and many others.
Professor N.L. Ernst, who discovered the bones of animals in 1928-1929, in his notes made an approximate picture that could be observed tens of thousands of years ago in the valley of Chokurcha Cave. During the Great Glaciation of Europe on the Crimean peninsula was a humid and mild climate, the Small Salgir was then a fuller river than it is now, and the fauna was an amazing sight for modern man: The endless meadows were the pasture of rhinoceroses, saigas and mammoths, white tundra partridges and grouse lived here, and huge cave bears were the main predators, although in size they were inferior to giant deer, whose horns were twice as big as those of today’s noble deer, and often lost to them in a fight. Once in the cave you can easily imagine the picture of that time — it is easy to travel back thousands of years, especially since its walls preserve traces of ancient man’s art.
The iconic image of the Sun with diverging rays with a diameter of about half a meter tells us about what was most valuable and acted as an object of worship of Neanderthals, and the images of fish and mammoth tell us about the respect of ancient people to the animals around them. Unfortunately, after World War II the cave was abandoned and the images were partially destroyed, but in 2009 this important part of the world’s history and human heritage was restored and put back in order.
Among other finds discovered in Chokurcha Cave are numerous and varied tools, including the oldest found in the caves of the Crimea — mustier microliths from the Early Paleolithic period. Microliths are small stone tools made of flint or limestone, used as spearheads. Scrapers, bone tools — more than 500 tools were also found here.
Going on vacation to Crimea, do not miss the unique opportunity to see this unique sightseeing Simferopol — a monument of world importance, the only one in Europe, for thousands of years, keeping traces of life of ancient man. Here has preserved a unique atmosphere, thanks to which you can travel back thousands of years, and the surrounding Chokurcha cave magnificent landscape will not leave anyone indifferent.