Neolithic burials and vessels in Alepotrypa and the caves of Mani

The Neolithic ossuaries in Alepotrypa cave, at Diros in Mani, have brought to light remains from numerous human burials accompanied by ceramic assemblages. The earliest pottery in the cave, dating to the end of the 7th millennium BC, was found in one of these burial contexts. In a second ossuary, remains of large fragments coming from domestic vessels were lying alongside human skulls and skeletal remains in secondary deposition. The skeletal remains were likely not entirely buried in soil but exposed. Some skulls and bones were placed inside broken bases of ceramic vessels.

The vessels are mostly coarse wares, some decorated with applied relief bands. They may have contained food offerings or been associated with funerary meals consumed during repeated ritual visits. Intentional breaking of vessels on site is also a plausible interpretation. The maintenance of an ossuary within the cave may represent a symbolic claim of “ownership,” possibly within a context of competition between different social groups.

Many caves along the same Mani coastline contain burial remains, in effect creating small-scale versions of Alepotrypa. Burials are often double or multiple, with complex funerary practices regarding the positioning of the dead. The assemblages accompanying the dead frequently have a domestic character—storage jars, food remains, tools—arranged in depositional clusters. This composition may reflect beliefs in an afterlife, for which a symbolic household had to be established and maintained.

Research program by the Ephorate of Palaeoanthropology–Speleology

2025, S. Katsarou, A. Darlas, Water in caves. Aspects of social ecology in the Bronze Age mainland and the Aegean. In: R. Laffineur, G-J. Wijngaarden, J.-P. Crielaard, J. Crouwel, J. Driessen, J. Hilditch (ed.), HYDOR. Water Resources and Management in the Aegean Bronze Age. Proceedings of the XXth International Aegean Conference, University of Amsterdam, 11-16 June 2024. Liège. Aegaeum 50.

2025, S. Katsarou, Ritual journeys tο caves during the Greek Neolithic: an integrated perspective of rituals, voyaging and caves, Acta Archaeologica 95(2), pp. 262-282. https://doi.org/10.1163/16000390-09501001

2025, S. Katsarou, Rätselhafte Höhlen in Griechenland. Wechselwirkungen zwischen Kultur und Natur als Herausforderungen der Höhlenarchäologie, Antike Welt 2, pp. 49-55.

2025, S. Katsarou, Cave excavations and their contribution to the understanding of Greek prehistory, Half a Century of Cave Protection and Research. Symposium Dedicated to the Memory of Evangelia Protonotariou-Deilaki, Athens, Epigraphic Museum, 9 October 2025 (Organizer: Ephorate of Palaeoanthropology-Speleology). [in Greek]

2024, S. Katsarou, A. Darlas, Neolithic populations in the Mani, Archaeology & Arts 144 (April 2024), pp. 49-59.

2024, S. Katsarou, Water in caves: Aspects of social ecology in the Greek Neolithic and the Bronze Age, XXth International Aegean Conference, HYDOR: Water Resources and Management in the Aegean Bronze Age, Amsterdam, 12-16 June 2024 (Organizers: Aegaeum Conferences & University of Amsterdam).

2023, S. Katsarou, A. Darlas, The biography of a Neolithic storage jar in Laconia, Greece, EAA 2023, Belfast, 30 August-2 September 2023, Weaving Narratives: Session 237: Pottery Beyond Typology. Prehistoric Vessel Biographies in the Domestic Sphere (Organizers: J. Pyzel, L. Gomart, H. Stäuble).

2023, S. Katsarou, A. Darlas, The expansion of mortuary behaviour and rites across the coastal caves of the Mani peninsula, Laconia, during the Final Neolithic: Evidence from the burial sites of Skoini 3 and Skoini 4. In: D. M. Smith, W. G. Cavanagh, A. Papadopoulos (eds.), The Wider Island of Pelops. Studies on Prehistoric Aegean Pottery in Honour of Professor Christopher Mee, pp. 124-150. Oxford. Archaeopress Archaeology. https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.1176854.17

2022, S. Katsarou, “Lindsey Büster, Eugène Warmenbol and Dimitrij Mlekuž, eds. Between Worlds: Understanding Ritual Cave Use in Later Prehistory (Cham: Springer, 2019, 270pp., 17 b/w illustr., 85 colour illustr., hbk, ISBN 978-3-319-99021-7),” European Journal of Archaeology 25(2), pp. 262-266. Review. https://doi.org/10.1017/eaa.2022.8

2021, S. Katsarou, The dawn of ancient Greek cave cult: Prehistoric cave sanctuaries. In: S. Katsarou, A. Nagel (eds.), Cave and Worship in Ancient Greece. New Approaches to Landscape and Ritual, pp. 17-48. London/New York. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003015765-2

2018, S. Katsarou, When do the dead become dead? Mortuary projects from Ossuaries I and II, Cave Alepotrypa. In: A. Papathanasiou, W. Parkinson, D.J. Pullen, M. Galaty, P. Karkanas (επιμ.), Neolithic Alepotrypa Cave in the Mani, Greece. In Honor of George Papathanassopoulos, pp. 91-126. Oxford. Oxbow. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvh1dk9q.13

2017, S. Katsarou, A. Darlas, New evidence on Neolithic burial and occupation practices in the caves of the Mani coast, Laconia​, The Wider Island of Pelops. A Workshop on Prehistoric Pottery in Memory of Professor Christopher Mee, Athens, BSA, Upper House, 16-17 September 2017 (Organizer: British School at Athens).

2016, S. Katsarou, The Diros, Alepotrypa, Greece, Ossuaries: Performances of memory in front of the dead, AIA San Francisco, 6-9 January 2016. Session: The Neolithic Diros (Organizers: A. Papathanasiou, M. Galaty, P. Karkanas, W. Parkinson, D. Pullen).

2013, A. Papathanasiou, P. Karkanas, G. Papathanassopoulos, S. Katsarou, G. Valvis, K. Psimogiannou, Alepotrypa Cave, Diros, 6000-3500 BC: New evidence shed new light on the excavated material, Communities in Transition. The Circum-Aegean Later Neolithic Stages (ca. 5,000/4,800-3,200/3,000 BC). International Conference at the Acropolis Museum, Athens, 7-9 June, 2013 (Organizer: The Danish Institute at Athens).