Neolithic vessels and ritual practices in the Cyclops cave on Υoura

A small assemblage of ceramic fragments—mainly necked bowls and a few cups—was discovered in the Cyclops cave on Youra, a small uninhabited island in the Northern Sporades. Their defining feature is the red decorative motifs (meanders, angles, lozenges, or grouped zigzags), painted on the vessels using the grid technique: a mesh of very fine, closely spaced parallel lines that intersect and are painted across the vessel surface like “graph paper.” The motifs are created by coloring selected squares of the grid, alternating with squares left empty of color. Some vessels also display free motifs, such as circles and triangles. The designs inspire admiration for the skill of the painter(s) in drawing such fine parallel lines, placed so closely together. In particular, the formation of motifs through measured patterning indicates inspiration from weaving and loom-based textile production.

The vessels were found in a narrow and inaccessible space formed between stalagmites, an area completely devoid of natural light. The ceramic assemblage is dated to the Middle Neolithic period (ca. 5800–5600 BC). From which settlement did these vessels originate? What was their function in the cave, inside the isolated space?

One hypothesis is that the vessels were transported from a nearby island (Kyra-Panagia), where earlier excavations have revealed a contemporary settlement and similar ceramic wares. Although painted, the vessels from the Cyclops may not have lacked a functional purpose. They may have also carried contents—perhaps food worthy of the symbolic weight of the decoration—possibly within the framework of a particular act or ritual performed in that narrow space of the cave. Could they have belonged to members of a specific group who recognized themselves in these motifs? For example, the connection between ceramic decoration and weaving may indicate a relationship—or even an identification—between potters and loom weavers.

Excavation by the Ephorate of Paleoanthropology-Speleology

2026, S. Katsarou, Color fashions in the Greek Neolithic: overlaps and interactions across painted styles. In: T. Dzhanfesova (ed.), Reading the Patterns: exploring Balkan Painted Pottery within Neolithic context (7th-mid 6th mill. BC). Oxford University Press.

2025, S. Katsarou, Caves and ritual activity in prehistory. In: F. Georgiadis, A. Gadolou (eds.), In the Cave. Stories from Darkness Brought to Light. Publication Realized on the Occasion of the Exhibition “In the Cave: Stories from Darkness Brought to Light” Organized by the Ephorate of Palaeoanthropology-Speleology and the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, in May 2025, pp. 130-147. Ephorate of Palaeoanthropology-Speleology & Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki. Editions Melissa.

2025, S. Katsarou, Caves across bodies of past and present, EAA 2025, Belgrade, 2-6 September 2025, Session 46: What can bodies do? The archaeology of experience (Organizers: J. Chapman, D. Mlekuz).

2025, S. Katsarou, Cave excavations and their contribution to understanding 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, 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

2021, S. Katsarou, The dawn of ancient Greek cave cult: Prehistoric cave sanctuaries. Στο: 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

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

2016, S. Katsarou-Tzeveleki, The Middle Neolithic pattern-painted ware from the Cave of Cyclops, Northern Aegean: Deconstructing older theories. In: Ε. Papadopoulou-Chrysikopoulou, V. Chrysikopoulos, G. Christakopoulou (eds.). ACHAIOS. Studies Presented to Professor Thanasis I. Papadopoulos, pp. 117-126. Oxford. Archaeopress Archaeology. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvxw3ngx.21

2010, P. Quinn, P. Day, V. Kilikoglou, E. Faber, S. Katsarou-Tzeveleki, A. Sampson, Keeping an eye on your pots: The provenance of Neolithic ceramics from the Cave of the Cyclops, Youra, Greece, Journal of Archeological Science 37, pp. 1042-1052. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2009.12.005

2009, S. Katsarou, Colorful images of the Greek Neolithic, Theoretical Archaeology Group-USA 2009, Stanford, CA, 1-3 May 2009: The Color of Things: Debating the Role and Future of Color in Archaeology (Organizer: A. Nagel, University of Michigan). Oral text uploaded at www.academia.edu.

2008, S. Katsarou-Τzeveleki, Middle Neolithic weavers paint: red patterns as markers of the local group’s identity. In: A. Sampson (ed.), The Cave of Cyclops on the Island of Youra, Greece. Mesolithic and Neolithic Networks in the Northern Aegean Basin. Vol. Ι: Intra-Site Analysis, Local Industries and Regional Site Distribution, pp. 69-110. Philadelpheia. INSTAP Academic Press.

2006, S. Katsarou-Tzeveleki, Cave of Cyclops, Youra: contribution of the painted pottery to the discussion on Middle Neolithic symbolisms, Archaeological Work of Thessaly and Central Greece 2 (publ. 2009), pp. 53-59. [in Greek]

2006, S. Katsarou-Tzeveleki, Middle Neolithic decorated vases in the cave of Cyclops. In: A. Sampson, Τhe Prehistory of the Aegean Basin. Palaeolithic- Mesolithic-Neolithic, pp. 126-136. Athens. Editions Atrapos. [in Greek]

2001, S. Katsarou, Red-on-white painted pottery from the early Middle Neolithic levels of the cave of Cyclope, Youra. In: A. Sampson (ed.), Archaeological Research in the Northern Sporades, pp. 11-31. Alonnissos. Municipality of Alonnissos. [in Greek]

1996, S. Katsarou, S. Tsourinaki, Neolithic painted pottery from the cave of Cyclops and its relationship to weaving, Archaeology in the Northern Sporades. Local Conference, Alonnissos, 12-13 October 1996 (Organizers: Society of Peparethian Studies & Municipality of Alonnissos). [in Greek]

2003, S. Katsarou, A. Sampson, Cave of Cyclope on Youra: Impressive finds reward effort demanding mission, 3rd Symposium on Cave Archaeology, Geology and Palaeontology, Athens, Harokopio University, October 17-19, 2003 (Organizers: Hellenic Speleological Society & Hellenic Federation of Speleology). Unpublished proceedings, uploaded on www.academia.edu. [in Greek]