The Cave of Petralona was – after Vergina – the second most visited archaeological site in northern Greece
Safe and modern Cave of Petralona in Halkidiki, it is expected to reopen to the public before the summer of 2023, now giving documented evidence also about “Archman”, the oldest European, as it was claimed decades ago.
The Cave of Petralona was – after Vergina – the second archaeological site in northern Greece, with the highest number of visitors, approximately 70 thousand visitors a year. “Since the mid-70s, when it opened to the public, it has had very high traffic. On the one hand, this was good, on the other hand, it caused damage, while the area was not well maintained. We had reached a point where it had suffered great damage both visually and materially to its infrastructure. It was therefore necessary to carry out a major renovation-upgrading project”, Andreas Darlas, head of the Paleoanthropology-Speleology Ephorate, tells APE-MPE.
At the end of 2018 it stopped being open to the public, the project of its upgrade “Elevation of the Petralona Cave and Upgrading of its Infrastructure”, with a budget of 1,053,848 euros, was included in the PEP of Central Macedonia – NSRF 2014-2020 and the work started in 2019. After from an autopsy she performed there, last July, the Minister of Culture and Sports Lina Mendoni stated that “in the next tourist season, the Cave of Petralona, as well as the Museum, will once again receive their numerous visitors. The planning of the service is to deliver the cave in May and the museum in August of the following year.” He also noted that “the cave and the museum of Petraloni must function again, as they are an important cultural and economic resource for the region and the wider region”.
The “Archman” and scientific documentation
In September 1960, in the Petralona Cave, it was found a human skull. The anthropologist Aris Poulianos, who dealt with the find for many years, estimated that it is the oldest European. He called him “Archman” and considered that not only the Cave, but also the wider area of Halkidiki was the cradle not only of man, but also of civilization. This was one of the two main, opposing opinions that had been advocated for the Petralona Cave. The other advocated that the Cave was not an archaeological site, i.e. it had never been inhabited by man and that the skull was found inside by accident.
Today, Mr. Darlas emphasizes that the excavation research, carried out as part of the ongoing project, yielded many and well-documented findings. Although their study is still in progress at a very early stage, however, they prove that the Cave is an archaeological site, since it was used by humans and indeed that its use lasted tens, maybe even hundreds of millennia.
“We don’t know exactly when the skull dates, because it was not found in the context of research, so that it can be scientifically documented”, notes Mr. Darlas, emphasizing that the work in progress is scientifically documenting the finds from the Cave for the first time.
From the discovery of the skull to the present day, much older remains of humans and human activity have been found that are more than 1.5 million years old, in areas such as Georgia, the Iberian Peninsula and Italy. Therefore, the skull of Petraloni can no longer be considered the most ancient of all.
However, Mr. Darlas emphasizes that the skull of Petraloni is the oldest human remains that we know to this day from the Greek area. He also notes that the site of Petraloni, even if it is not the oldest, is included in the oldest sites “and is particularly important as it is on the road from Asia to Europe”.
Remains and tools from the Ice Age
With the evidence so far, experts are able to know that the Cave was inhabited – and indeed intensively – by people in a very old era, the Lower Paleolithic, in the geological period of the Middle Pleistocene, but without being able to give an exact date . As, in fact, Paleolithic people did not have a permanent residence, but moved seasonally from area to area, during the times they did not live in the Cave, carnivores, lions, bears and many hyenas found refuge there.
The work done to widen the corridor of the Cave, which was very narrow, made it possible to make excavation documentation for the first time. “Finds were also present from earlier excavations, but what was missing was the excavation documentation, that is, where they were found and how many,” explains Mr. Darlas, adding that when the layers are dated, it will be clear to which period exactly the specific finds belong.
What is certain is that people had stayed there, something that had been disputed until now. “On the surface (on the ‘floor’) where they had stayed, they had left residues, tools and the by-products of the manufacture of stone tools,” says Mr. Darlas. The detailed study of these finds gives us valuable information about the life, occupations, technology and environment of our distant ancestors.
Another experience is visiting the Cave
The visit to the Cave, which is internationally characterized as a “wonder of nature”, will be “a different experience”, according to Mr. Darla, with modern lighting, its stalagmites cleaned, a more comfortable and safe corridor, while a part of it will is accessible to people with disabilities.
“All facilities will be more modern and secure. Inside the Cave, one will be able to admire its natural beauty, while the visitor will get information from a relevant brochure and from the Museum” notes the head of the Paleoanthropology-Speleology Ephorate.
According to Mr. Darla, the Petralonon Museum – which was closed to the public along with the Cave in 2018 – was very old and the findings were not properly displayed. The project “Re-exhibition of the collections of the Petralona Museum” is underway here, with a budget of 529,200 euros financed by the PEP of Central Macedonia-ESPA 2014-2020.
“The effort is to apply the new museum concepts, so that the world can see the new data and the older findings, with a pleasant and educational approach, with the use of new technologies” explains the head of the Paleoanthropology-Speleology Ephorate.
Work on the Museum began in 2021 and it is expected to open to the public immediately after the Cave. In order to be financed by the Recovery Fund, the project of accessibility for people with disabilities between the cave and the museum is included in the YPPOA.
RES-EMP
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