Here’s an interesting find, not rock art this time, but archaeology. Susiluola or Wolf Cave is northern Europe’s oldest known human dwelling site. In most places the last ice age destroyed evidence from the warmer interglacial periods of previous ice ages. Wolf Cave is like a small pocket that succeeded in avoiding the destruction. Because of this the cave is an exceptionally valuable research site. In the sediment levels of Wolf Cave have been found evidence of human habitation that includes stone tools, stone chips left from the making of such tools and old hearth remains. These artefacts are estimated to be 120,000 years old, which means that Neanderthals must have dwelt in the cave prior to the last ice age.

Wolf Cave is located in western Finland. Study of the cave and surroundings is ongoing and causing a rewriting of the history of habitation in the Nordic countries. Though tourists cannot enter the cave, they can visit the Tourist Centre and view the exhibition showcasing Wolf Cave’s archaeology and the many artefacts that have been found there as well as Wolf Cave’s geology and the geological development of the area and its plant and animal life since the ice age. There is a 15-minute video presentation about excavations at Wolf Cave and a multimedia production that describes the role the ice age played in the development of the cave. Next time I’m in Finland….