Franchthi cave is a rocky limestone headland located on the east shore of the Gulf of Argos in southern Greece. The cave has a complex stratigraphic sequence, spanning at least 25000 years, from the Upper Paleolithic through the Neolithic, while it has indications of the earliest secure evidence for mortuary ritual in Greece involving cremation. In the Lower Mesolithic levels at Franchthi, dating to the 10th mill. BP., a cluster of eight burials, including two cremations, was revealed near the mouth of the cave.
The excavation of the cave took place in 1967-1979 by T. W. Jacobsen of Indiana University, while the study of the human remains was conducted by J. L. Angel and D.C. Cook. The bones from the two cremations have moderate to severe heat-induced alterations, indicating deliberate burning. In the framework of the research project TEFRA, the burnt human remains from the cave will be extensively re-examined, investigating if the cremations from Franchthi are the earliest example of the use of fire in the manipulation of the deceased in Europe and Greece, respectively.
References
Cullen, T. (1995). Mesolithic mortuary ritual at Franchthi Cave, Greece. Antiquity, 69(263), 270-289.
Jacobsen, T. W., & Farrand, W. R. (1987). Franchthi Cave and Paralia: Maps, Plans, and Sections, (Bloomington, Indiana University Press)
Wilkinson, T. J., & Duhon, S. T. (1990). Franchthi Paralia--The Sediments, Stratigraphy, and Offshore Investigations, (Bloomington, Indiana University Press)
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki