World Heritage Site for two valleys with six caves named Höhlen der ältesten Eiszeitkunst ("Caves with the oldest Ice Age art"). The site would encompass areas in the Lonetal (valley of the Lone) and the Achtal (valley of the Ach) both in the southern Swabian Jura. The former includes the caves Hohlenstein-Stadel, Vogelherd and Bocksteinhöhle, the latter Geissenklösterle, Hohle Fels and Sirgenstein Cave. Each valley would contain a core area of around length, surrounded by a buffer zone of a least width. In the argument why these sites deserve recognition as a part of the universal human heritage, the area is described as the source of the currently oldest known (non-stationary) works of human art in the form of carved animal and humanoid figurines as well as the oldest surviving musical instruments. Their creators lived, were inspired and worked in and around these caves. The caves also served as the repositories of the figurines which may have been used in a religious context. In addition, they were the venue where performers used the excavated musical instruments and where the social groups lived from which the artists sprang. The committee awarded the status of WHS in July 2017. Gallery See also Adorant from the Geißenklösterle cave Venus of Hohle Fels Vogelherd Cave Brillenhöhle Literature Nicolas Conard, Maria Malina: Abschließende Ausgrabungen im Geißenklösterle bei Blaubeuren, Alb-Donau-Kreis. in: Archäologische Ausgrabungen Baden-Württemberg, Theiss, Stuttgart 2001, p. 17-21. J. Hahn: Die Geißenklösterle-Höhle im Achtal bei Blaubeuren. in: Forschungen und Berichte zur Vor- und Frühgeschichte in Baden-Württemberg, Theiss, Stuttgart, 21, 1988,262. References External links University of Tübingen World Heritage Sites in Germany Caves of Germany Archaeological sites in Germany Geography of Baden-Württemberg Landforms of Baden-Württemberg