Travel Secrets
A visit to Theopetra, a cave phenomenon in Kalambaka
Photo credits: Iraklis Milas via www.thetravelbook.gr
Theopetra cave in Kalambaka is a valuable ark of information about the life of the prehistoric man in Europe.
In Kalambaka lies one of the archaeologically greatest caves of Europe. Theopetra cave is a phenomenon. It is the only prehistoric site in Greece with such large followings of anthropogenic embankments, including the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic, the Mesolithic and the Neolithic era.
One of the most shocking findings are the extremely rare imprints of human feet of 130,000 years. They are the second in seniority in Europe after those of Terra Amata of France (380,000 years old).
The footprints come from left feet and correspond to today's children of 7-8 years old, although this cannot be said with certainty, as the sediments of the cave have been shrinking.
Inside the cave six burials have been identified, most of which are of the Mesolithic period, although the oldest is from the Upper Palaeolithic, in 14,500 BC. Hundreds of tools from flint, quartz and other raw materials are also among the precious findings.
Photo credits: Iraklis Milas via www.thetravelbook.gr
Their technology shows that a man was building each tool with special moves to achieve a specific shape and thinness. A wide variety of fruits has also been found in Theopetra, wild in the Paleolithic and domesticated in the Neolithic era, which indicates that the practice of agriculture came from the East, but was developed locally. Specific analysis reveals, in fact, that in Thessaly cave ancient ash from volcanoes in Italy has been found.
The cave was systematically excavated since 1987, by the Chief Inspectorate of Paleoanthropology-Speleology Office of Southern Greece, Mrs. Nina Apostolika - Kyparissi. As she confides, the biggest bet around Theopetra is to reveal the time at which the current Homo Sapiens sapiens succeeded Homo Sapiens neanderthalensis in Greece ...
Hours 8:30 to 15:00, tel .: 24320 22346, 24320 22339 (Municipality of Kalambaka)
Giannis Foskolos
