THE CAVE
The enclosed valley Kartušev dol, known to the locals as Podjama, hides a special surprise in the heart of its natural karstic beauty – a real cave. Once, bears dwelled in it and people used it to bury their dead there, while nowadays the cave is a home to animals of a truly special kind – bats.
CULTURAL HERITAGE
The oldest human presence in Ajdovska jama is attested, together with the cave bear bone remains, as early as the Palaeolithic or Early Stone age period (70,000 to 20,000 years BP). In the Neolithic or Late Stone Age period and in the Copper Age, the cave was used as a burial ground and a shrine. Up until the end of the Middle Ages, the cave then functioned as a refuge in times of danger.
NATURAL HERITAGE
The karst enclosed valley Podjama is a natural phenomenon, a karstic world in miniature, with typical karst features, such as cave, karst springs, subterranean watercourse, sinkholes and ponors. Bats, the present occupants of Ajdovska jama, had used it as shelter and hunting grounds for at least 5000 years already, according to some estimations.
