Grzybowa Góra

Grzybowa Gora is part of the Rydno Archaeological Reserve in south-central Poland, a 10 km stretch along the Kamienna River valley containing several hundred Paleolithic campsites -- the world's largest concentration of such finds. The site is centered on a hematite mine where ochre was extracted for ritual purposes via open-cast pits up to 1.5 m deep. Cultures represented include Hamburg (13,000-12,000 BP), Federmesser (11,800-10,800 BP), and Swiderian (10,800-10,000 BP). Discovered in 1921 by Ludwik Sawicki, the reserve was formally established in 1986 after Stefan Krukowski linked settlements to mining activities.