Archaeological gem hidden inside little-known cave

Prehistoric cave paintings are extremely rare south-east of the Alps, but in 2009 a scientist stumbled upon mysterious red and black lines and dots inside a little-known cave in the south-west of the country in the first such discovery in Slovenia.

A total of 32 red ochre lines, signs or symbols of various sizes and another 28 black dots and lines made with charcoal are hidden deep in Bestažovca Cave, near Sežana. They are believed to be at least 7,000 years old.

They were discovered in January 2009 when Andrej Mihevc from the ZRC SAZU Karst Research Institute visited this...