On a mountain peak in Greece stands the oldest human-made structure ever discovered.
This man-made structure built 23,000 years ago predates the Great Pyramid of Giza
The Theopetra Cave, located in the Thessaly region of Greece, is home to what many experts consider the oldest construction ever made by humans: a stone wall dating back roughly 23,000 years—about 16,000 years before the Great Pyramid of Khufu was built.
This wall, constructed during the Upper Paleolithic period, partially blocked the cave’s entrance, likely as protection against the extreme cold of the Ice Age. To determine its age, scientists used a method called optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), which measures the last time mineral grains were exposed to sunlight.
The Theopetra Cave has been continuously inhabited for over 130,000 years, from the Middle Paleolithic to the Neolithic. Archaeological research has uncovered a rich sequence of layers containing evidence like campfires, stone tools, and even children’s footprints—offering valuable insight into how people lived during prehistoric times.
After the construction of the Theopetra wall, the next oldest known major settlement is Çatalhöyük, in present-day Turkey, which dates back to around 7,400 BCE. Following that, various megalithic structures begin to appear across Europe, built between 5,000 and 3,000 BCE.
This discovery challenges previous assumptions about when human architecture began, suggesting that our ancestors possessed the intelligence and social organization needed to adapt their environment and build shelters much earlier than previously believed.
Although currently closed to the public to protect its fragile archaeological remains, Theopetra Cave continues to attract scientific interest. It stands as a powerful reminder of early humans’ ingenuity, resilience, and ability to shape the world around them.
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