The Neolithic mines of striped flint in Krzemionki are one of the most valuable monuments of prehistoric mining in the world. One can find here perfectly preserved cavities, mine tips and pi-shaft hollows which together build a unique industrial landscape from before 5000 years. At the exploitation field which covers the area of 78,5 ha, there are about four thousand mines. In prehistory, flint, used for making smoothed axe blades, was excavated here.
Discovered in 1922 by a geologist Jan Samsonowicz, the exploitation field in Krzemionki covers the area of 78,5 ha, with the width of 20 up to 200 m, and the length of 4,5 km. There area contains about four thousand mines representing the majority of prehistoric techniques of flint excavation. We can distinguish four kinds of mines which differ from each other in terms of their depth and excavation works system. The largest and most complex chamber mines reached the depth of 9 m and they covered the area of a few hundreds square metres. The height of the underground cavities ranges from 55 to 120 cm.