The Neolithic and Mesolithic occupation of the cave of Cyclope, Youra, Alonnessos, Greece

The cave of Cyclope is situated on the SW side of the island of Youra, 16 miles from Alonnessos. Systematic research in the cave lasted from 1992 to 1996. The upper layers, which date to the Roman period, contained mainly lamps. In the centre of the cave a Middle Neolithic stratum yielded a mass of pottery of exceptional red-on-white decoration. In cutting C, near the entrance, the upper layers belonged to Late Neolithic I (5th millennium BC) and were underlain by a thin Early and Middle Neolithic layer. Most of the deposits were Mesolithic. These layers consisted of faunal remains and thick-packed living floors in which there were ash hearths and scattered charcoal. Radiocarbon dates from these strata ranged from c. 6800 to 8500 BC. The quantity of fish bones and shells was immense in the Mesolithic levels, suggesting, in association with the variety of bone hooks, high dependance on sea resources. The presence of Mesolithic habitation on a small island in the northern Aegean demonstrates that the cave of Cyclope is the earliest site in the Aegean Sea.