Window to the Past: Alepotrypa Cave

Alepotrypa Cave is like a time capsule of life in Neolithic Greece. The cave lay undisturbed for 5,000 years before it was rediscovered in the 1950s, and Greek archaeologists started excavating the cave in the 1970s. Since 2010, Field Museum associate curator Bill Parkinson has collaborated with archaeologists in Greece to understand the significance of this space.

Alepotrypa (meaning “fox hole”) Cave is located near Diros Bay on the Mani Peninsula in Greece. The people who used this cave lived long before the Greeks that hosted the first Olympic games and built massive temples. Although the people of Alepotrypa Cave have not been celebrated in legend or popular culture, uncovering their existence gives us important insight into life at a certain place and time.

Even though much has changed since the inhabitants of Diros Bay lived, some aspects of the human experience transcend time. The remains of this embracing couple were found in what was once a village near the cave. Archaeologists believe that village and the cave were inhabited during the same time period. DNA evidence shows that the larger figure is male and that his arms are wrapped around a smaller female figure. Beyond that, we don’t know much more about their relationship. But Alepotrypa Cave provides a new window into the lives of these people who lived at a unique place and time.

See how modern technologies help give us a new glimpse into the cave.

By Madelaine Clarke, Digital Communications Intern