Arene Candide, Archaeological cave in Finale Ligure, Italy.
Arene Candide is a cave in the Ligurian coastal region situated about 93 meters up a steep rock face. Three broad entrances allow light to penetrate the inner chambers, where archaeological layers from different periods are stacked one above another.
The cave served as a dwelling and burial ground for early humans during the Upper Paleolithic period. Layers show continuous use spanning from the Stone Age through Byzantine times.
The name comes from the sandy dunes that once characterized this location. Visitors can observe today how successive generations used this space for shelter and burial over millennia.
To reach the cave, visitors must follow a marked walking path uphill from the base, which takes about 30 minutes. The terrain is steep, but the path is well-established and has safety features in place at several points.
The site contains the burial of a teenage individual from the Stone Age period adorned with shell ornaments and mammoth ivory pendants. This combination of valuable objects shows that young people held important status in those early societies.
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