Certova Pec (Cave)

Certova Pec (Devil furnace) is a small karsts cave in the mountains Považský Inovec. Signs of the oldest cave settlements in Slovakia were found right in this cave. It was created by karstic alterations of dolomite limestone. The cave is 27 meters long and mutually interconnecting. It represents a precious archaeological and paleontological site with evidence of multiple Paleolithic settlements.

The cave is situated in the cadastral territory of the village Radosina, at the foot of the hill Nad Lipovcom, about 8 km from the town of Piestany on the road to Topoľčany, at altitude of 253 m ASL.

Cave settlement of hunters in the Old Stone Age. The oldest settlement of the cave from the last interglacial represents mustier culture from the Middle Paleolithic, when it inhabited by Neanderthal man. It is the oldest known cave settlement in the country. Chopped and retouched stone findings and gastropods from this site may be associated with findings from the Black Sea. The cave was in 1981 declared a protected national monument.