The Petralonian cave keeps the history of mankind allowing you to see how people lived 700 thousand years ago. Immerse yourself in the atmosphere of antiquity and look at the incredible beauty of the stalactites.
Petralonian cave attracts thousands of visitors from all over the world. Some are eager to see the legendary relics, while others are attracted by the amazing beauty of its stalactite finery.
Go back hundreds of thousands of years
The peninsula of Halkidiki is the trident of Poseidon formed from under the waters of the Aegean Sea. It is famous for its ancient history. Literally, touch it and overlive its first chapters by yourself in the Petraloniancave, located near the town of Nea Kallikratia. The history of mankind began 700,000 years ago in a huge two-kilometer tunnel that broke through Mount Katsika at an altitude of 270 meters above sea level and among thousands of stalactites and stalagmites. This history is not described in any of the books. Only white bones and spiky stones can tell you about this ancientry.
Everyone who is interested in paleontology, anthropology and the history of mankind must be heard about Petralonian finds. After all, the remains of the most ancient man of Europe, Arkhantrop Petralonsky, were found on the peninsula of Halkidiki in its underground tunnel. Moreover, this amazing find was made by not by a paleontologist, but by an ordinary dweller of the village of the same name with Petralona cave. This amazing find turned all our ideas upside down about the origin of the first man.
Look at how the first European people lived
According to the latest research, the skull of the archanthropus is at least 700,000 years old. It means only one thing: a modern European human began his story not from the lands of Africa, but from here, from the Mediterranean. Moreover, primitive tools and traces of the hearth were found alongside these ancient remains. It indicates that the ancestor of the European already knew how to use fire, unlike his African congener.
The one-hundred-meter entrance to the cave of Petralona leads the traveler through the paths of prehistoric lions, hyenas, and megacerins including ancient birds and the first people. After all, dozens of long-disappeared living species have been hidden for millions of years in this natural refuge. There are showcases where scattered bones, skulls, and teeth of completely unknown creatures are stored along with the passageways of the cave. It will be possible to descry weapons, household items, and tools created by the hands of an ancient man which were forced to survive while struggling with the most dangerous predators. And the only silent witnesses of those bloody scenes are the majestic stalactites and stalagmites that shine in the enchanting light of the tunnel's illuminations.
Visit the Anthropological Museum
The researcher will witness a real scene of prehistoric life while moving a little farther into the depths of the cave of Petralona. Reconstruction is located in one of the secluded corners of this large-scale tunnel and demonstrates the process of cooking on a fire (to which only 100,000 years later a Neanderthal man came the first time according to the generally accepted point of view). The traveler may immerse himself in the studying finds after the passage through the winding tunnel of the Petralonian cave. This desire will be executed immediately in the eponymous anthropological museum located not far from the entrance to the tunnel.
