The cave was discovered in 1931 by a senior railroad clerk and historian, Hermann Mohn, as he explored the hills above the city. An expedition in 1931, led by Gustav Riek, discovered eleven carved animal figures that dated from around 32,000 years ago. A 2005–2006 expedition by the University of Tübingen discovered several additional statues including one, an ivory horse, which may be one of the oldest human artworks in the world. In 2006 another sculpture was discovered. This one, a mammoth carved from mammoth ivory, was dated from 35,000 years ago, making it the oldest artwork in the world.