The Megalakkos ( el, Σπήλαιο Μεγάλακκος, ''Spelaio Megalokkos'') is a

rock shelter A rock shelter (also rockhouse, crepuscular cave, bluff shelter, or abri) is a shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff. In contrast to solutional caves (karst), which are often many miles long, rock shelters are almost alway ...

located north of the village of

Kleidonia Kleidonia ( el, Κλειδωνιά) is a village and a community in the municipality of Konitsa, Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. In 2011 its population was 11 for the village, and 136 for the community, which includes the village Kalyvia. ...

in the Ioannina regional unit and around east of the

Kleidi Cave Klithi or Kleidi Cave ( el, Σπήλαιο Κλειδί, ''Spelaio Kleidi'') is located to the north of the village of Kleidonia in the Ioannina regional unit and around west of the Megalakkos Cave, northwestern Greece. It is situated atop the ...

, northwestern

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. It sits atop the northern bank of the

Voidomatis Voidomatis ( el, Βοϊδομάτης) is a river in the Ioannina regional unit in northwestern Greece, and is a tributary of the Aoös river. The main current sources are located under the village of Vikos. Along its path it converges with o ...

river valley.

Archaeology

Archaeological excavations that were undertaken by a British team between 1983 and 1986 revealed the cave with a height of , it contained artifacts, stone tools,

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

l remains and other

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

s, that were dated back to the

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...

and the Epigravettian culture between 20,000 and 12,000 years ago. Analogous discoveries were made by the same research team in the neighboring Kleidi cave.

References

Caves of Greece Landforms of Ioannina (regional unit) Prehistoric Greece Landforms of Epirus (region) {{Epirus-geo-stub