Bacho Kiro cave

Interior of the cave

The Bacho Kiro cave (Bulgarian: пещера „Бачо Киро“) is situated 5 km west of the town Dryanovo, Bulgaria, only 300 m away from the Dryanovo Monastery. It is embedded in the canyons of the Andaka and Dryanovo River. The first tourists entered the cave in 1938, two years before it was actually called the Bacho Kiro cave after the Bulgarian National Revival enlightener Bacho Kiro. The cave is a four-storey labyrinth of galleries and corridors with a total length of 3,600 metres, 700 metres of which are maintained for tourists' attraction.

The earliest human remains found in Bulgaria have been excavated here. The site is also one of the earliest known Aurignacian burials.[1] With an approximate age of 46,000 years, the remains consist of a pair of fragmented human jaws, but it is disputed whether these early humans were in fact Homo sapiens or Neanderthals.[2]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Milisauskas, Sarunas (74). European Prehistory: A Survey. Springer. ISBN 978-1-4419-6633-9. Retrieved 8 June 2012. One of the earliest dates for an Aurignacian assemblage is greater than 43,000 BP from Bacho Kiro cave in Bulgaria ... Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ↑ Sale, Kirkpatrick (2006). After Eden: The evolution of human domination. Duke University Press. p. 48. Retrieved 11 November 2011.

Coordinates: 42°56′48″N 25°25′49″E / 42.94667°N 25.43028°E