MELITZIA CAVE - 2005

Melitzia Cave. A. Darlas (ΕΠΣΝΕ) reports on trial excavation in a cave inside the bay of Oitylos, ca 350m from the shore and at an elevation of 64m. The cave has a single chamber ca 20 x 20m, with an opening ca 2 x 2m.

A trial trench 6m inside the entrance (initially 1 x 1m but increasingly restricted by a stalagmite, eventually to 0.25 x 0.4m) reached a depth of 1.3m. The upper 0.7m consisted of a mixture of soil and dung, with some sherds dating to historical periods. Beneath that was a layer of plastic red clay with stones, which contained Upper Palaeolithic remains. The principal archaeological level was found at -0.9-0.98m, and contained bone, shell and worked stone. The bone remains (1,155 pieces, 440 of which are diagnostic) belong to the following large mammal species: Canis sp., cf. Canis, Vulpes vulpes, Mustelidae, Lepus europaeus, Sus scrofa, Capra sp., Cervus elaphus. Deer are most common, with ovicaprids well represented; the remaining species are present in a very few examples. This may indicate that the cave was used as a seasonal base for hunting. Bones were rarely burnt, but commonly broken: there is little evidence that they were gnawed by animals. Shells included a large density of land snails (Helix melanostoma) mostly in the upper excavation levels. The worked stone assemblage (322 examples) featured Upper Palaeolithic (Gravettian and Epigravettian) technology, clearly earlier than Final Palaeolithic (noting the presence of small blades with straight back but the absence e.g. of geometric microliths). Three pieces of haematite were found, perhaps used for the production of pigment (ochre).