(Redirected from Francthi)'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, 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 einkron) appears in the archaeological record at the cave.
Bibliography
★ William R. Farrand, Depositional history of Franchthi Cave Fascicle 12, Sediments, stratigraphy, and chronology. Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press 1999).
External links
★
Archeological history of Franchthi Cave