Vela Spila: the prehistoric cave above Vela Luka, Korčula
Vela Spila (“Big Cave”) is a large cavern on the slopes of Pinski rat hill, about 130 m above the town of Vela Luka on the island of Korčula. Two openings in its roof let daylight into the hall, which has been explored by archaeologists since the 1950s. Its sediments record human presence from the Palaeolithic to the Bronze Age, which makes it one of the most important prehistoric sites in Dalmatia.
Long before the first Mediterranean ports, hunters were already visiting this cave on Korčula. Its layers hold the only Upper Palaeolithic ceramic figurines known in south-eastern Europe.
The history of Vela Spila
The cave lies in layered Cretaceous limestone on the north-western side of the Vela Luka bay, above a cove called Kale. Its entrance is an arch facing south-west, and inside there is an oval hall under a domed ceiling about 17 m high. Two natural openings, caused by the collapse of parts of the roof at a time that is still undetermined, bring daylight into the front and middle of the cave. The cave was already mentioned in the Korčula Statute in the 15th century.
In modern literature the first person to describe it was Nikola Ostoić, a local historian, museum commissioner and collector of antiquities, who visited the cave in 1835. He wrote about it in his Compendio Storico dell'Isola di Curzola in 1856. Scientific research began in the late 1940s: Marinko Gjivoje took up work at the site in 1949, and in 1951 he, Boris Ilakovac and Vinko Foretić started the first test excavations. Their promising results led Grga Novak to dig further, partly to confirm links with the island of Hvar.
From 1974 fieldwork was carried out almost every year, led at first by Grga Novak and from 1978 by Božidar Čečuk. Franko Oreb became a permanent member of the team, and Dinko Radić joined in 1986. The floor of the cave is filled with deposits about 4 m thick containing stone and ceramic tools, hearths, bones of wild and domestic animals and fish, and several human burials. Radiocarbon dating points to human activity in the cave going back some 20,000 years, at first seasonal visits for hunting and for gathering marine resources.
Some finds date from between 13,500 and 12,600 BC, and three child burials were discovered between 1986 and 1998 in the younger Mesolithic layers. In the Neolithic the cave was used by people of the early Impresso pottery culture, by a distinctive local group with painted pottery, and by the classic Hvar culture; its finds are compared with those of Grapčeva cave on Hvar. The Eneolithic layers show non-permanent occupation linked to the Hvar culture, followed by a compact Bronze Age layer.
The most surprising discovery came during excavations between 2001 and 2006: 36 ceramic artefacts from the late Upper Palaeolithic, about 17,500 to 15,000 years old. They are the only known examples of ceramic figurative art from the Upper Palaeolithic in south-eastern Europe. The finds are displayed at the Centre for Culture in Vela Luka.
Curiosities about Vela Spila
- The two holes in the cave's roof let sunlight fall into the hall, much as in the Brillenhöhle cave in Germany, which Wikipedia uses as a comparison.
- The only ceramic figurative art of the Upper Palaeolithic known in south-eastern Europe comes from this cave: 36 pieces found between 2001 and 2006.
- The cave is mentioned in the Korčula Statute as early as the 15th century.
- In 1986 the remains of two adults were found whom researchers dated to the late Neolithic; the people of Vela Luka nicknamed them Baba i Dida, “Grandma and Grandpa”.
- Three child burials from the Mesolithic layers were discovered between 1986 and 1998.
- Excavations have run almost every year since 1974, and the cave was featured in National Geographic Hrvatska in 2009.
Tours near Vela Spila
Experiences in the area that you can book online with Viator:
Visiting Vela Spila
- The cave sits above the town of Vela Luka, on the north-western side of the bay; the arched entrance faces south-west.
- Inside, look up at the high domed ceiling and the two natural openings that light the hall.
- The archaeological finds themselves are displayed at the Centre for Culture in Vela Luka, so a visit to the town helps to understand what the cave contained.
- Whether the site can be entered and in what conditions is not stated in the sources; check the current opening hours and access before you go.
Opening hours, access and conditions can change. Check before you go.
Map: where Vela Spila is
Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors
Photos of Vela Spila
Questions
What is Vela Spila and where is it?
Vela Spila is a large prehistoric cave above the town of Vela Luka on the island of Korčula, on the slopes of Pinski rat hill at about 130 m above sea level.
How old are the finds from Vela Spila?
Radiocarbon dating suggests that people used the cave for some 20,000 years, with layers running from the Palaeolithic through the Mesolithic and Neolithic to the Bronze Age.
What is special about the ceramic figurines of Vela Spila?
Thirty-six ceramic artefacts from the late Upper Palaeolithic, roughly 17,500 to 15,000 years old, were found between 2001 and 2006. They are the only known ceramic figurative art of that period in south-eastern Europe.
Why does the cave have two openings in its roof?
They were caused by the collapse of parts of the roof, at a time that is still unknown. They let daylight reach the front and middle of the cave.
Where can I see the objects found in Vela Spila?
The archaeological finds are displayed at the Centre for Culture in Vela Luka.
Who first researched Vela Spila?
Nikola Ostoić described it in 1856 after visiting in 1835, while scientific excavations began after Marinko Gjivoje took up work there in 1949.
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