Stránská skála

Stránská skála (often without diacritics as Stranska skala) is a hill and refers to a Mid-Pleistocene-Cromerian interglacial most important paleontological site in Central Europe. It is situated in the eastern part of Brno, Moravia near the city districts Židenice/Juliánov and Slatina, dating to approximately 600,000 BP, as supported by paleomagnetic dating. It is a 1500 m long and 400 m wide hill, built from Jurassic limestone, especially Callovian-Oxfordian, built from light brown Caleidocrinus (Crinoid) mostly and Brachiopoddes and Coral and more other types of limestones rich of fossil fauna as well. Stránská skála hill is located in Bohemian Massif (and right on the border between the two geological provinces): Bohemian Massif (Moravian Karst) and Carpates (Western Subcarpathia- Dyje-Svratka Vale). Its northwestern slope is composed from karstified limestone cliffs in which numerous fossiliferous fissures and caves were found. Approximately 48 meter of this slope are covered by complex talus fan.

At this place extensive excavations were made by paleonthologist Rudolf Musil and his colleagues in 1956-1968 which yielded rich paleothological material, including Homotherium moravicum teeth and approximately 1600 bones and bone fragments of birds from 23 families, 51 genera and 68 species. Earlier (1943) were Ursus deningeri discovered, an later rich spectrum of coastal animal fossils such as ostracods, bivalves and fishes. The other terrestrial fossil animals are represented mostly of snakes. The site is unique in that it has been a particularly abundant source of prehistoric artifacts (especially stone tools) dating from the Acheulean period, ower Baradostian to Neolitics and Eneolitics, which spanned roughly 27,000 to 20,000 B.C. In addition to the abundance of various stone tools were discovered also fireplaces (the older one 250.000 BP).4