Hadži-Prodan's Cave

The Hadži-Prodan's Cave is an archaeological site of the Paleolithic period and a national natural monument, located in the village Raščići around 7 km from Ivanjica in western central Serbia [1]. The 345 m long cave was formed during the Late Cretaceous in "thick-bedded to massive" Senonian limestone [1]. Hadži Prodanova has been the subject of research and study in speleological and archaeological literature for over a century [1]. In 2003 a 2.5 m deep trench of 16 m2 was dug in the entrance, the main cavern and the internal part of the cave plateau [1]. Only fifteen Palaeolithic artifacts were discovered inside the cave [1]. However, Hadži Prodanova and the nearby Šalitrena Cave are so far the only cave sites in the Central Balkan mountains, that have produced evidence for human presence in a Gravettian and/or Epigravettian cultural context [1].