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Devetashka Cave

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Site type:
Cave
Lat/Long:
43.23, 24.89
Country:
Bulgaria
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Devetàshka cave (Bulgarian: Деветашката пещера) is a large karst cave around 7 km (4.3 mi) east of Letnitsa and 15 km (9.3 mi) northeast of Lovech, near the village of Devetaki on the east bank of the river Osam, in Bulgaria. The site has been continuously occupied by Paleo humans for tens of thousands of years, served as a shelter for various faunal species during extensive periods and is now home to nearly 30,000 bats.

Rediscovered in 1921, excavations began only in the 1950s and revealed almost continuous human occupation since the late Paleolithic. Earliest traces of human presence date back to the Middle Paleolithic around 70,000 years ago. The site also contained one of the richest sources of Neolithic cultural artifacts (6,000 to 4,000 BC).