Ancient Caves, Ice Age Art and Bauhaus buildings in Germany to be considered for World Heritage Site by UNESCO

• Caves in Baden-Wuerttemberg, the oldest piece of art by humans
• Archaeologists discovered ancient musical instruments, flutes made from mammoth-ivory, water bird figure
• Bauhaus Building revolutionized the design and aesthetic concepts of architecture
• These cultural treasures fulfill the universal heritage values and could be considered as one of the World Heritage Site by UNESCO

Ancient site dating back to Ice age

The ancient limestone caves with art dating to the ice age and buildings designed by a Bauhaus master less than 100 years ago are Germany's cultural treasures.

Separated by more than 40,000 years they are the oldest piece of art ever produced by humans and highlight Germany's submissions for the prestigious 'World Heritage Site' title by the United Nation's, cultural agency- UNESCO. A World Heritage designation helps sites in their protection from pollution, development and other threats. This also helps raise the profile of a region and attract more tourists.

Also Read: ONGC and Unesco Join Hands to get India's Largest Coastal Lagoon 'Chilika Lake' the World Heritage Site Tag

In the southwestern part of Baden-Wuerttemberg, there are six caves where archaeologists have discovered hundreds of personal ornaments, ancient instruments, carvings and 40 small flutes made from mammoth ivory. According to archaeology professor Nicholas Conard, whose team found a 40,000-year-old mammoth ivory figure known as the Venus of Hohle Fels said that these ancient caves fulfill the universal cultural value that UNESCO is looking for.

The executive director of the Blaubeuren's Museum of Prehistory, Stefanie Koelbl said the Venus of Hohle Fels is the oldest known image of a human. "This figure has a very special charisma also carved from ivory – she has this typical pattern for artworks from the younger Paleolithic Age here in southern Germany, these notch lines, and cross lines," Koelbl said. "She has no head but a loop to carry her and probably was carried as an amulet. It belonged to one special person."

Conard said, "It was an exceptional area where each year we find new examples of Paleolithic artworks that can be up to 40,000 years old or even a little bit older. And they are typically beautifully formed objects cut with stone tools and made from mammoth ivory."

"They have produced the most abundant, richest and oldest record of early art works and also musical instruments, along with a whole range of other innovations, that are part of the cultural development at the time when modern humans spread across Europe and the Neanderthals went extinct," said the University of Tuebingen professor.

Some other findings in the caves include approx. 32,000 years old 8-inch phallus carved from siltstone, a water bird figure, unique in early Ice Age art, and a broken art piece of a half man-half lion carved from mammoth ivory.

Archaeological site of the 20^th century

The Bauhaus building which is in the northeastern part of Germany was designed by Hannes Meyer- the school's second director. The architecture of Bauhaus school revolutionized design and aesthetic concepts between 1919 and 1933 while some Bauhaus buildings were already included in the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1996.

Buildings designed by Meyer was known as Laubenganghaeuser – literally "housing with balcony access" – in the housing estate in Dessau, southwest of Berlin, as well as a trade union school he designed in Bernau, north of Berlin, are under consideration for the world heritage site this year.

UNESCO World Heritage Committee Meet

UNESCO's World Heritage Committee meeting is set to take place in Poland this month. The nominations for World Heritage sites 2017 include 27 cultural sites, 7 natural sites and one both natural and cultural site. Some other cultural sites like the Valongo Wharf in Rio, the Sambor Prei Kuk archaeological sites in Cambodia, the Kujataa subarctic farming landscape in Greenland, and the landscapes of Dauria in Mongolia are also being considered.

– by Shabnam Mangla of NewsGram. Twitter @Sabnam_mangla