Stalactite cave near Pyrgos Dirou

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Glyfada

Hall in the show cave area

Hall in the show cave area
Location: Mani (Peloponnese) , Greece
Height : 0  m
Geographic
location: 		36 ° 38 '16.8 "  N , 22 ° 22' 48.1"  E Coordinates: 36 ° 38 '16.8 "  N , 22 ° 22' 48.1"  E
Stalactite cave near Pyrgos Dirou (Greece)
Stalactite cave near Pyrgos Dirou
Cadastral number: 0025
Geology: limestone
Type: Dripstone cave , water cave
Discovery: 1923
Show cave since: 1961
Lighting: electric
Overall length: 15,400 m (as of 2007)
Length of the show
cave area: 		3,100 m
(2,800 m by boat)
Particularities: Longest cave in Greece

The stalactite cave at Pyrgos Dirou is one of three caves that are located in the village of Pyrgos Dirou ( Greek Πύργος Διρού ), Itylo municipality directly on the sea on the Bay of Diros. The stalactite cave , also called Glyfada ( Greek Γλυφάδα ) or Vlychada ( Greek Βλυχάδα ), is open to tourists and one of the main attractions of the Mani Peninsula .

Visitors can visit the cave on a 2800 m long boat trip of about 25 minutes and a subsequent 300 m long climb. The guides pound the boats through the rock labyrinth with narrow passages and large halls.

classification

  • Giant cave (passage length ≥5000 m)
  • Secondary cave (formation after the surrounding rock)
  • Karst cave (surrounding limestone)
  • Horizontal cave (spatial arrangement)
  • Stalactite cave , active water cave (cave content)
  • Cave system (connected, branched network of cavities)

Travel history

Entry point for the boat trip

The Glyfada Cave was discovered by residents of the region in 1923. The first systematic description was made in 1949 by the founders of Greek speleology , the married couple Ioannis Petrocheilos and Anna Petrocheilou. By the death of Ioannis Petrocheilos in 1960, 1,600 m had been explored, 1,300 m of which were waterways. The research was continued by the Greek Speleological Society and since 1961 a part has been opened as a show cave . By 1966 a further 1500 m of waterways could be explored; a diving expedition on the first siphon was unsuccessful. In 1970/71 Greek and American cave divers explored 300 m underwater passages. Further advances:

  • 1989: 05,300 m (status of a giant cave achieved)
  • 1992: 06,200 m
  • 2000: 10,606 m
  • 2005: 15,400 m (longest cave system in Greece)

The Swiss cave diver Jean-Jacques Bolanz reached a depth of 78 m and found stalactites down to a depth of 71 m. The Glyfada is the fifth deepest underwater cave in Greece (as of 2007).

More caves

Outside of the Glyfada

The Alepotrypa Cave ( Greek Αλεπότρυπα , foxhole ' ; ASM 0923) is located 220 m east ( 36 ° 38 ′ 20 ″  N , 22 ° 22 ′ 56 ″  E ) of the Glyfada Cave at the last bend of the access road The entrance was blocked by a rock fall, which also ended the settlement (5,300 to 3,200 BC) during the Early and Late Neolithic . The settlement is documented by rock carvings and numerous finds. The history of the settlement site in connection with the trade in obsidian from Milos is presented in the adjoining Neolithic Museum Dirou .

800 m west ( 36 ° 38 '18 "  N , 22 ° 22' 26"  O ) of the Glyfada Cave is also populated in the Neolithikum Katafygi -Höhle (ASM 0287). The cave was used as a place of refuge until modern times ( Greek καταφυγή , retreat, refuge).

literature

Close up of a stalactite formation
  • Information sheet for visitors, published by the Society for Tourism Development (German version), as of 2009
  • Giorgos A. Papathanasopoulos: The Dirou caves . Publications of the Center for Neolithic Studies Dirou, Athens 2008 (Greek: σπηλαια Διρού .).
  1. ↑ pp. 3–8
  2. ↑ pp. 14-61
  3. ↑ pp. 3–8
  • Anna Petrocheilou: The Caves of Greece . Ekdotike Athenon, Athens 1992, ISBN 960-213-195-0 (Greek: Τα σπήλαια της Ελλάδας . Translated by Ingrid Livieratou).
  1. ↑ pp. 10-19
  2. ↑ pp. 20-25
  3. ↑ pp. 135-136

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jochen Duckeck: Glyfada - Glifada Cave - Diros Caves. April 2, 2011, accessed September 6, 2011 .
  2. ↑ a b Kostas Adamopoulos: The deepest and the longest caves in Greece . SELAS, Athens 2005, p. 3 (English, selas.org [PDF; 425 kB ; accessed on October 27, 2009]).
  3. ↑ V. Iannopoulos: contribution to the study of karst phenomena of Messinian Mani . In: Greek Speleological Society (ed.): Bulletin de la Sociéte Spélólogique de Gréce . XXI (1993-1994), pp. 72–87 ( ese.edu.gr [PDF; 5.0 MB ; accessed on October 3, 2010] Greek: Συμβολη στη Μελέτη του καρστικού φαινομένου τυσ Λακονικήσ Μάνισ .).
  4. ^ Anon .: News. SP.EL.EO, March 23, 2007, accessed September 19, 2010 (Greek).

Remarks

  1. ↑ a b c ASM: cave register of the Greek speleological society ESE ( Greek ΑΣΜ. - Αριθμό του Σπηλαιολογικού Μητρώου, ΕΣΕ - Ελληνική Σπηλαρεολογική ήτα )

Web links