1. Introduction

The cave of Sarakenos is the most important among the hundreds of small and larger caves and rock shelters in the area of Copais. It was not affected by the fluctuations of the now reclaimed lake, for it is situated at an altitude of 190 m, 100 m above the modern plain of Copais. It is a large cave, extending over 3,000 m² (Fig. 1) with a sizeable, luminous entrance and could have been used as a dwelling, storage area, burial ground and so forth.

Theodoros Spyropoulos (Σπυρόπουλος 1973, 1973α) conducted an excavation at the cave and reported rich finds dating to the Neolithic, Early Helladic (EH) and Middle Helladic (MH) periods. These finds, however, have never been published. Today they are stored in the Museum of Thebes but their inventory markings have been lost due to the passing of time, and are therefore deprived of their archaeological context. A systematic excavation in the cave was undertaken by the undersigned in 1994 and from 2000 till the present day the excavation is carried out under the aegis of the University of the Aegean (Σάμψων 2000, Sampson 2996, 2008).

Extra weight has been placed on the careful examination of the stratigraphy, which forms the basis for dating the Neolithic period in Boeotia, and in the wider area of mainland Greece. The excavation aims at offering precise dates for the various strata, the use of the cave in various periods and expanding our knowledge on the economy of each era.

2. The Excavation Trenches

Trench A, measuring 4 Χ 4m, was the first to be dug inside the cave and formed the basis for distinguishing the various prehistoric strata. Five more trenches have been dug since then, which were later connected, forming an extended area of 160 m². What has emerged is that in all trenches we can observe the same sequence of undisturbed strata, which is rather rare in cave excavations.

The last occupation stratum, almost on the surface of the cave, is 50-60 cm thick and dates to the Middle Helladic period (2000-1600 BC). The presence of millstones and spindle whorls suggests the practice of domestic crafts inside the cave. The animal bones that were discovered belonged to goats and bovids, but dietary habits were more varied and included oysters and fish from the lake which was probably still in existence during this period.

Immediately below follows a thin layer of the Early Helladic period (thickness 20-25 cm) containing abundant pottery sherds, mainly from small jugs. The EH layer found in trenches A and B appears to be continuous and undisturbed, without intense burn marks. Its duration was short. This, EH II layer, is the mature phase of the period, based at least on what we know about it in Boeotia (Κόνσολα 1981) and Euboea (Σάμψων 1985, 1988).

Neolithic strata begin at a depth of approx. 1.15 m and, judging by the hearths and the successive occupation floors, suggest sustained habitation. Late Neolithic II (Sampson 1990, 1993, 285), which was previously called Final Neolithic (i.e. from c. 4200 to 3300 BC), is strongly represented. LN ΙΙ strata yielded large quantities of charred grain seeds (Σάμψων και Μεγαλούδη 2006); this combined with the abundance of millstones suggests the same area was also used for preparing food, and could indicate some sort of storage.

Late Neolithic I is also represented in the cave, providing impressive pottery finds, both in terms of quality and quantity (Fig. 2). In the early stages of this period, which correspond to the Tsaggli phase in Thessaly (Milojcic & Hauptmann 1969) and to Varca Psachnon at Euboea (Σάμψων 1977), apparently the cave was sparsely occupied. A thick Middle Neolithic layer (5800-5300 BC) follows, which yielded superb thin-walled painted pottery bearing close resemblance to that found at Chaeronea and Elateia.

The presence of thick, undisturbed Early Neolithic (6700/6600-5800 BC) and Mesolithic (c. 9500-6900 BC) layers is extremely significant; thus far these are perhaps our sole sources of crucial information on the intriguing transition phase between the two periods. What is fascinating in this cave is that the Mesolithic layer follows the Early Neolithic one, without any intervening stratigraphic lacunae. In recent years, research has been focused on the detailed examination of the stratigraphy, and to this purpose dozens of samples have been dated and analyzed, vastly improving our knowledge on the succession of strata in the various trenches inside the cave (Sampson et al. 2009). An important realization was that at the end of the Mesolithic and the beginning of the Early Neolithic period, the same flora existed inside the cave, while the use of limestone tools becomes prominent, which might indicate isolationism.

An extensive burning area and thick charred soil were discovered in the earliest phase of the Mesolithic (depth: 4.80m). Radiocarbon dating of yielded very early dates 10050±50 BP (9870-9360 BC) and 9940±60 BP (9680-9270 BC). This is one of the earliest chronologies ever recorded for a Mesolithic stratum in Greece.

At a depth of 5.10 m the stratum of the Upper Palaeolithic came to light, which yielded the distinctive small blades made up of firestone and fossilized bones. A carbon sample yielded a date of 11910±60 ΒΡ, placing it in the final phase of the Upper Palaeolithic.

3. Figurine crafting in the Sarakenos Cave

Up to 2006 few clay figurines had come to light dating to Late Neolithic Ι (5^th millennium BC). In these figurines, the head has an oblique cross-section, thus far found also in Thessaly, Euboea (Tharrounia) (Σάμψων 1992, 1993, fig. 200), Kefala (Coleman 1977, table 26) and more recently at Ftelia at Myconos (Sampson 2002). The recent discovery of many hundreds of figurines in the Late Neolithic II stratum is especially significant, for during this period such artefacts were not very widely used.

The Sarakenos Cave figurines form a noteworthy group, both in terms of their quality and number. These are mostly anthropomorphic clay figurines, although a few animal statuettes have also been unearthed, together with a small number of marble figurines (Fig. 3). Their subjects are rendered simplistically, yet in some cases we can observe a stronger tendency towards naturalistic representation. Judging by the size of the heads, feet or soles, these could be in fact described as small statues, measuring up to 60 cm in height, possibly even taller. Neolithic figurines of similar dimensions have been unearthed in a few sites of Thessaly too.

Male figurines are also abundant, and we should stress the existence of a new type, which, to our knowledge, is typologically unparalleled. These depict male figures seated on the ground, legs fully outstretched, so as to expose the genitals, which are rendered plastically in order to stress the sex. According to L. Orfanidis, who has been studying the finds from the cave and the figurines in question, these are the male counterparts of the female figurines representing women in labour.

This is the first time that such a concentration of figurines has been uncovered in a Greek cave, though the cave’s morphology and location raise questions with respect to its use. Antlers found placed on floors together with large and small figurines arranged around them (Fig. 4) probably denote intermittent communal rituals of the cave’s users and symbolic practices related to storage. In general, the overall large size of the figurines in this site sets it apart from other known LN caves. On the other hand, the semiology of these practices perhaps included male figurines with outstretched legs, as well as female ones with legs kept together. We look forward to the emergence of new data following the expansion of the excavation, as year by year our research brings to light rich material.