Franchthi Cave

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Greece Franchthi Cave (Σπήλαιον Φράγχθι)
The entrance to the Franchthi Cave with the Paralia in the foreground. Facing south-east. Spring 1997.
Location
Franchthi Cave (Greece)
Franchthi Cave
Coordinates 37°25′24″N, 23°07′56″ECoordinates: 37°25′24″N, 23°07′56″E
Country Greece
Region Argolis
Elevation 5 m
Peak Period Mesolithic to Neolithic

Franchthi cave (or Frankhthi cave, Greek Σπήλαιον Φράγχθη) in the Peloponnese, in the southeastern Argolid, is a cave overlooking the Argolic Gulf opposite the Greek village of Koilada.

The cave was occupied from the Palaeolithic c. 20,000 BP (and possibly earlier) through the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods, being abandoned about 3000 BC (Middle Neolithic). It is one of the very few settlements in the world that shows continuous human occupation for more than 20,000 years.

Obsidian items from the cave have been traced to the island of Melos 80 miles away by sea, which indicates long-distance sea travel. Around 6000 BC, evidence of domesticated animals and plants (emmer and einkorn wheat) appears in the archaeological record at the cave.

[edit] References

  • Farrand, William R. 1999. Depositional History of Franchthi Cave, Fascicle 12: "Sediments, stratigraphy, and chronology". Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 37°24′48″N, 23°07′35″E