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Baile Herculane

Baile Herculane is a resort town in SW Romania, population 6,076 (July 1, 1991). located between the Mehedinti Mountains in the east and the Cerna Mountains in the west, spread along the valley pass of the Cerna River, between high limestone walls, 19 km from the storage lake of the Danube River (at Orsova), and 40 km from Drobeta -Turnu Severin. The spa is part of the Cerna-Domogled National Park.

The maximum and minimum temperatures are 31.1 C (1953) and -18 C (1950), respectively. Average: 10.5 C

Photo: http://ibelgique.ifrance.com/romania/THbaile_herculane.htm

From: Elizabeth H. Dinan, 1996 'A preliminary report on the lithic assemblage from the early Holocene level at the Iron Gates site of Baile Herculane', Mesolithic Miscellany 15 Volume 17 Number 2

The site of Pestera Hotilor (The Cave of Thieves) at the town of Baile Herculane (The Baths of Hercules) is located in perhaps the most picturesque locale in all of Romania. The site itself is in a rather large and impressive cave, with three large mouths to the east and southeast and three front inner chambers. The cave is on the side of a sheer cliff overlooking the fast-running Cerna River. Immediately below the cave bubble up hot sulphur springs which are tapped today to make Baile Herculane an important spa.

Archaeologically the site is unique, with numerous levels including Mousterian, 'quartzitic Palaeolithic', one early Holocene (or Mesolithic) level referred to as Late Epigravettian, as well as numerous later levels, including Late Neolithic to Medieval periods.

The most intensive excavation of the Early Mesolithic level occurred in 1960 - 1961 under the direction of Alexandru Paunescu. The site has been erroneously reported to have two late Pleistocene/early Holocene levels, approximately contemporary with the two levels at Cuina Turcului. In fact there is only one undated level, with a remarkably small lithic material assemblage - 107 pieces in all. Although there are no radiocarbon dates, this level appears to belong to the early Holocene on the basis of the lithic assemblage typology which is similar to that of levels I and II at Cuina Turcului, the faunal remains found in the hearths, the floral (macrobotanical) remains, and the superposition of the level directly on cryoturbated sediments, (sediments disturbed by freezing) said to represent the final stadial of the Wurm, which was particularly harsh.

The faunal and floral remains all indicate a much cooler environment such as that of the very early Holocene when spruce dominated but more diverse forests were invading.

Taxon	Common Name
Apodemus sylvaticus	Common wood mouse
Chionomys nivalis	Snow vole
Clethrionomys glareolus	Northern bank vole
Microtus agrestis	Field vole
Microtus arvalis	Common vole
Microtus nivalis	snow vole
Microtus subterraneus	Common pine vole
Sorex araneus	Common shrew
Ursus arctos	Brown bear
Cervus elaphus	Red deer
Castor fiber	Eurasian beaver
Cyprinus carpio	Carp
Aspiu rapas	(fish)
Thymalus thymalus	Grayling
-	snails
Picea sp.	Spruce
Alnus sp.	Alder

From:
http://infocib.ase.ro/rom/b-herc.html

The Thieves' Cave or Outlaws' Grotto is located under the Ciorici Peak at an altitude of160 m. The cave is medium-sized (143 m long), horizontal, old, and developed on a system of fissures.

It contains the following areas:

The main gallery, not very high (2 to 4 m)
The signatures room ( 3 to 7 m high)
The digging rooms ( the larger one is 50 m long and 10 to 13 m high)
The calcite wall gallery whose height diminishes gradually to the cave end.

It is a warm humid cave.

It was inhabited as far back as the middle palaeolithic. The cave was first included in the tourist circuit at the beginning of the 19th century.

The Thieves' Cave is very important from an archaeological and biological point of view.

The complex researches performed so far have revealed the most complete archaeological profile in Romania with a habitation continuity from the middle Palaeolithic to the 16th and 17th centuries.

Also here some cave and endemic species of isopoda and diplopoda as well as microscopic crustaceans (especially in the calcite wall room) were discovered and described for the first time.

To all these we have to add the wall inscriptions, some of them from the 19th century.
In 1960 and 1961, the speleologist St.Negrea dicovered the signatures of N.Golescu, the minister of Domestic Affairs of the 1848 Provisional Government. It was dated 1836 but after 1972 it was covered over by other inscriptions.

Karst landscape typical of the area.

Photo: http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/magazines/docs/v21n3_emil.asp

Pollen Analysis below from:
Carciumaru, 'Mediul geografic in pleistocenul superior si culturile plaeolitica din Romania, Editura Acadamiei Republicii Socialiste Romanaia, Bucuresti, 1980, p.93:

Pollen Analysis, Baile Herculane (c. 8100 B.C. uncalibrated)

arboreal pollen: 82%

Taxon	Common Name	%
Pinus sp.	pine	2% decreasing
Quercus sp.	oak	5%
Ulmus sp.	elm	4%
Tilia sp.	linden	4%
Carpinus sp.	hornbeam	1%
Alnus sp.	alder	5%
Fagus sp.	beech	1%
Betula sp.	birch	1%
Salix sp.	willow	1%
Corylus sp.	hazel	48%

non-arboreal pollen: 18% (decreasing).

Graminae		5%
Cerealia		1.2%
Compositae		4%

Photo: http://www.romanianvoice.com/images/orase/herculane.html

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