Petralona Cave is the most important of Greece’s 12,000 caves, thanks to its wealth of fossils (one of the richest collections in Europe) and to the discovery of a human scull that dates back approximately 700.000 years!
They named it “Red stones” because of the red earth which colored the stalagmites and stalactites. It covers an area of 10.000 m2.
In 1960 Dr Aris Poulianos found a complete skull and part of the skeleton of an erect hominid.
It belonged to a woman between 25-35 years old.
The skull is dated as being 700.000 years old and the traces of fire found next to it, around 1.000.000 years old.
It is considered one of the earliest human findings in Europe.
NOTE: Petralona Cave and Museum is closed to the public from 1/1/2019 due to restoration works.