Petralona Cave | Halkidiki Excursions

Petralona Cave


Petralona Cave was discovered by Filippos Chantzaridis from Petralona, a goat shepherd who heard the sound of water from a hole in the rocks.

In 1959 some men from Petralona went to this place and dug a seven meter deep hole in the search of water. What they found was a cave.

In 1959 Ioannis Petrocheilos, a Greek speleologist, found numerous bones of animals in the cave, many of them covered with cave coral.

One year later a human skull was discovered by Christos Sarijannidis. The skull was hanging at the wall about 30cm above ground, where it was held by sinter.

The skull of an Archanthropus, a transitional type between Homo sapiens and Homo erectus, was a scientific sensation. The discovery of the Archanthropus, the first one in Greece, showed that this cave was inhabited approximately 700,000 years ago.

Visits to the cave & museum


The finds, including the bones of lions, hyenas, deer and other animals, are presented to visitors in the nearby Anthropological museum.

The Petralona Cave and the Antropological Museum are located in Petralona near Nea Moudania, at 300 metres above sea-level on the west foot of Mt. Katsika in Halkidiki and approximately 50 kilometers from Thessaloniki.

Entrance
Entrance is from 09:00 AM until 1 hour before sunset. Cameras and cell-phones are not allowed as Petralona cave is still being studied and flashes of photo cameras may cause serious damage to the stalactite and stalagmite decoration.

Tickets
Ticket price for Petralona Cave and Anthropological Museum: € 7,00
For groups with more than 25 individuals: € 5,00