The Venus of Willendorf

The Venus of Willendorf is the most famous prehistoric Venus figurine in the world. It was found on August 7, 1908, at the site of a prehistoric hunter-gatherer camp site above the Danube, hidden in a hollow and sprinkled with red dye. It measures 10.5 cm in height and is 29,500 years old.

Oolitic limestone, the material it is made of, does not come from anywhere near the site of discovery or its immediate surroundings. Detailed research has shown that the most likely place of origin of the material was in Italy, near Lake Garda (the Sega di Ala locality), which is about 450 km as the crow flies, but on the other side of the Alps. So in that case, the Venus figurine would either have been carried through the Alps, or bypassed the Alps. The second most likely source could have been near the town of Izyum in eastern Ukraine, which is about 1,600 km from Willendorf.

In addition to this well-known Venus, another Venus figurine has been found in Willendorf, (the Venus of Willendorf 2), slimmer but less elaborate.

The Venus of Willendorf is on display at the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna, as is the Venus of Galgenberg.

The village of Willendorf is located on the left bank of the Danube in Austria, between the towns of Krems an der Donau and Melk (with its famous monastery)

Literatura:

Weber, G.W., Lukeneder, A., Harzhauser, M. et al.:

The microstructure and the origin of the Venus from Willendorf.

Scientific Reports 12, 2926 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-06799-z

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-06799-z