The Vela Spila cave ( hr, Vela Spila, italic=no, "Big Cave") is situated above the town of
Vela Luka on the island of
Korčula
Korčula (, it, Curzola) is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea. It has an area of , is long and on average wide, and lies just off the Dalmatian coast. Its 15,522 inhabitants (2011) make it the second most populous Adriatic island after ...
, in
Croatia
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, capi ...
on Pinski Rat hill at an elevation of approximately . The cave consists of an elliptically shaped cavern that measures in length, in height, and is approximately wide. There are, similar to the
Brillenhöhle
The Brillenhöhle (german: Brillenhöhle, literally ''spectacles cave'') is a cave ruin, located west of Ulm on the Swabian Alb in south-western Germany, where archaeological excavations have documented human habitation since as early as 30,000 ...
in Germany, two openings in the roof of the cave which were caused by collapse at an as yet undetermined time.
Nikola Ostoic was the first person to describe the cave in modern literature. In 1856, he wrote ''"Compendio Storico Dell Isola Di Curzola"''. A local historian, museum commissioner, and collector of
antiquities
Antiquities are objects from antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean: the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures. Artifacts from earlier periods such as the Meso ...
, he visited the cave in 1835. The cave has been mentioned in the
Korčula Statute back in the 15th century.
Scientific research
Scientific research
The scientific method is an empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has characterized the development of science since at least the 17th century (with notable practitioners in previous centuries; see the article history of scientific m ...
of the cave started in the late 1940s. Marinko Gjivoje took up work at the site in 1949. In 1951, Marinko Gjivoje, Boris Ilakovac and Vinko Foretic started test excavations and the results were allowed the proposal to proceed. Based on these findings,
Grga Novak decided to further excavate in order to confirm the caves links with the island of
Hvar
Hvar (; Chakavian: ''Hvor'' or ''For'', el, Φάρος, Pharos, la, Pharia, it, Lesina) is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea, located off the Dalmatian coast, lying between the islands of Brač, Vis and Korčula. Approximately long,
wi ...
. The explorations were carried out in September 1951. He published his preliminary results in the ''Annals of the Yugoslav Academy''.
Since 1974, fieldwork were undertaken almost annually, initially led by Grga Novak and since 1978 by Bozidar Cecuk. Franko Oreb is a permanent member of the excavation crew and Dinko Radic joined the excavation in 1986.
There is an unbroken sequence of sediments from the late
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic ( Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymo ...
to the
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...
.
Radiocarbon
Carbon-14, C-14, or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic materials is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and c ...
dated finds suggest seasonal human presence for hunting and the collection of marine resources from 20,000 years BC. Three child burials were discovered between 1986 and 1998 in the younger Mesolithic layers. Further findings are dated between 13,500 and 12,600 BC.
Eneolithic
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star.
Computer scientists and mathematicians often v ...
layers account for non-permanent human occupation of the cave, attributed to the
Hvar Culture
Hvar culture, also known as Hvar-Lisičići culture, was a Neolithic culture in the eastern Adriatic
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the ...
. This period is immediately being followed by a compact layer of the
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
.
The
archeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...
finds are on display at the ''Centre for Culture'' in Vela Luka. In 2009
National Geographic
''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widel ...
(Hrvatska) featured an article about Vela Spila.
In 1986, remains of two adults where found. Scientific research dated their bodies back to late Neolithic times. The local towns people of Vela Luka called them'' Baba i Dida'', meaning Grandma & Grandpa.
Early ceramic art
Further excavations between 2001 and 2006, produced 36
ceramic art
Ceramic art is art made from ceramic materials, including clay. It may take forms including artistic pottery, including tableware, tiles, figurines and other sculpture. As one of the plastic arts, ceramic art is one of the visual arts. ...
ifacts dated to the late
Upper Palaeolithic
The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories coin ...
period, about 17,500 to 15,000 years ago. These finds are the only examples of ceramic figurative art in southeastern Europe during the Upper Palaeolithic.
See also
*
Drakonjina Spilja
References
External links
www.velaspila.hrArchaeologists uncover Palaeolithic ceramic artFirst Epigravettian Ceramic Figurines from Europe (Vela Spila, Croatia)
{{Authority control
Korčula
Caves of Croatia
Landforms of Dubrovnik-Neretva County
Neanderthal sites
Prehistoric sites in Croatia