Chamber with the Cave Bear Skeleton

Beside the cave bear skeleton is an exposed section of cave sediment. It contains rock fragments and clay-rich material with numerous bones of Pleistocene animals. The skeleton shows the animal's anatomy, while the sediment section provides its palaeontological context. Such concentrations of remains are sometimes called animal graveyards, although bones could enter a cave at different times and in different ways.

Cave bears account for the largest share of the remains found here and gave the whole cave its name. The animals used drier areas near cave openings and hibernated underground. Their young were also born in caves. The presence of bears therefore explains part of the accumulation, but the finds also include remains carried in by water and the prey of other predators.

Research began after marble quarrying exposed an opening on 14 October 1966. Bones of large mammals, mostly bears, were spotted among the quarried blocks. An industrial excavation had revealed a natural history site. Today's display of skeleton and sediment brings together two kinds of evidence: the anatomy of a prehistoric animal and the deposits that preserved its remains.