For a long time the discovery site was thought to be lost. A few years ago the rediscovery of the location brought it back to light. You’ll find it along the straight path, where you can experience the human evolution up to today.

The entrance of the site is marked by the so-called “Rabenstein”. At this remnant of the old gorge the time axis starts. Following the path across the Düssel and the site, the visitor encounters milestones of great events in human history and realises the dynamics of our evolution.

The motto of the area itself becomes clear when entering the discovery site. The visitors themselves begin a search for the traces of the meaning and history of the site. A pattern of stone crosses lends a new visibility to the now destroyed site which once was deemed lost. Its precise location has been identified and set within the global coordinate system.

The time axis crosses the first “Botanikum”. The plants growing here were used by ice-age people. Collecting them was an essential activity in their daily life. The climatic ups and downs during the ice age are shown on the right hand side of the time axis. During the ice age, the climate frequently alternated between warm and cold periods.

If you lie down on the stone pallets, you might imagine the 20m high cave with the Neanderthal burial in the ground. The stone pallets and the stone cross with the mtDNA engraved into it, mark the grid square where the Feldhofer Grotte must have stood.

The area highlighted by red and white ranging-poles was examined in 1997. The clayey sediments of both neighbouring caves, the Feldhofer Grotte and the Feldhofer Kirche, were found and subsequently (2000) excavated by Ralf W. Schmitz and Jürgen Thissen. Not only were three additional pieces of the specimen from 1856 discovered, but also bones from two other Neanderthal-individuals were brought to light. However, most of the human remains and numerous stone tools are still in place – three meters under the surface.

The second Botanikum represents vegetation from the last glacial period, about 30.000 years ago. Today these plants are found in the biomes of the Arctic and of the Russian steppe. It is a special landscape, serving large ungulates – like the ones living in the game reserve – as an excellent livelihood. Therefore it was the perfect hunting ground for ice-age people.