Lesvos Caves

The Caves of Lesvos in the Eastern Aegean: The island of Lesvos has about 200 caves and many of them are still unexplored. These caves are strongly associated with the Neolithic times and indications show that they were used as places of worship.

The largest cave of Lesvos is Magaras of 120 meters length. Inside the cave, many findings have been discovered, including a plethora of pottery vessels with drawings. The cave of Agios Ioannis is smaller, about 90m long, and has two corridors with marble walls. There are no stalagmites, but it creates some beautiful shapes around its vault. Inside the cave, ancient tombs have been found.

The cave of Agios Vartholomeos in Taxiarches is about 60m long. In the past, it used to have some impressive stalactites but most of them were destroyed from visitors. Inside the cave, prehistoric vessels were discovered which are now hosted in the Archaeological Museum of Mytilene.

There are many other caves around Lesvos, such as the Cave of Glastra in Agiassos, the Cave of Agios Ioannis in Thermi and the Cave of Agios Isidoros in Plomari. Although most of these caves remain unexplored, researches of the scientific community have revealed their geological importance.