Cioclovina Cave
The cave where the “Cioclovina 1” skull was found — one of the oldest modern humans in Central and South-East Europe.
Peștera Cioclovina Uscată (the “dry” Cioclovina Cave) lies near the village of Cioclovina (Boșorod commune), in the Șureanu Mountains, inside the Grădiștea Muncelului–Cioclovina Natural Park, where the Ponorâci–Cioclovina karst complex is a nature reserve. It is a karst gallery about 2 km long, studied since the 1880s; the neighbouring Cioclovina cu Apă (“wet”) cave is open only to cavers.
The cave was mined for guano phosphate — “Cioclovina phosphate”, a natural fertiliser formed from bat deposits. During this work, in 1941, the “Cioclovina 1” skull was found, radiocarbon-dated to 28,000–29,000 years; DNA analysis confirmed it belonged to a Homo sapiens. Numerous cave bear fossils were also recovered here between 1911 and 1921, and in 1931 a new mineral, ardealite — named after Ardeal, the Romanian name for Transylvania — was described from this cave.
The cave is reached from the village of Cioclovina, about 6 km away. The area is also crossed by the marked Ohaba Ponor – Ponorici Cave – Cioclovina Cave – Boșorod trail.
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