Franchthi Cave

Franchthi Cave is a major archaeological site overlooking Kiladha Bay in the Argolic Gulf, southeastern Greece, with human occupation spanning from c. 38,000 BC to 3,000 BC -- the longest continuous sequence in Greece. Excavated 1968-1976 by Thomas W. Jacobsen, the cave yielded obsidian from the island of Melos dating to c. 13,000 BC, providing the earliest evidence of seafaring in Greece. The site documents the full transition from Paleolithic hunter-gatherers to Neolithic farmers, with domesticated plants and animals appearing around 7,000 BC. Finds include stone tools, pottery, and Mesolithic child burials now displayed in the Nafplion Archaeological Museum.