World's oldest human structure built 23,000 years before Pyramids discovered
The world's oldest human structure, built 23,000 years before the Great Pyramid of Giza, has been discovered - and has single-handedly re-written everything we thought we knew about the history of ancient structures.
Teopetra cave in Greece, is the oldest known structure built by man - older than the largest of the three pyramids at the Giza Necropolis complex in Egypt, the last remaining wonder of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
The stone wall of Theopetra in Thessaly was built during the Upper Paleolithic, a whopping 130,000 years ago, when humanity was just beginning to develop more complex tools and survival strategies.
The wall partially closed off the entrance of the cave and its most likely purpose was to protect against the harsh glacial climate that dominated the region at that time, as per Unión Rayo.
Its construction has been placed around 16,000 years before the Pyramids of Egypt, and shows that the cave's inhabitants - nomadic gatherers - knew about architecture or, at least, adapting to their environment.
The cave was inhabited for more than 130,000 years, from the Middle Paleolithic to the Neolithic, and boasts "an almost continuous human presence". Stone tools, remnants of hearths, and even children's footprints have been found inside - contextualising the lives of those who lived in the chamber for such a consistent period of time.
In fact, human footprints in the cave are among the oldest in Europe, dated to approximately 135,000 years ago. This remarkable find consists of four footprints in a row, believed to have been made by children aged two to seven. The children likely walked on the remnants of a fire, which later petrified, allowing the footprints to be preserved today.
Neolithic pottery, bone and shell artefacts, skeletons dating from 9000 and 8000 BC, and traces of plants and seeds giving a look into the dietary habits of the time have been stumbled upon during excavation efforts.
Specimens such as coal and human bones also prove that the cave was occupied from about 135,000 BC to 4000 BC and that temporary use continued during the Bronze Age and historic times up to 1955.
Even after that, the shepherds used the cave occasionally to shelter their herds until the excavations began. The latest cave findings published in 2012 have raised the time records of the cave's dwelling to 135.000 BC.
What's more, the site showcases the records of two significant cultural transitions within a single location - the replacement of Neanderthals by modern humans and the shift from hunter-gathering to farming after the end of the last Ice Age.
In a similar way, in Scotland, the islands of Orkney also hold proof of a remarkable ancient past. This area was home to developed Neolithic communities thousands of years ago, creating settlements and monuments that were built even before world-famous sites like Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids of Giza existed.
Orkney is home to a collection of Stone Age sites that are recognised internationally. Together, these form a UNESCO World Heritage site called the "Heart of Neolithic Orkney."
Back on mainland Europe, for history buffs or those taken with this remarkable finding, you can visit Theopetra, located 5 km from Meteora, because after eight years, Theopetra Cave finally reopened to the public this year.
A museum located on the incredible site housing the remains found inside the cave.
The Theopetra Cave and the museum remain open every day except Tuesdays, from 8.30am-3.30pm.
The entrance fee/ticket is five euros per person with special rates for children/students/elderly.
With the same ticket you can access both the museum and the cave.
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