The Sacred Cave Trapeza (Kronion) is a Neolithic and Bronze Age ritual site on the island of Crete in Greece. During the Minoan era it's one of the most important caves.
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Limestone caves are also called solution or karst caves. Over millions of years, exposure to acidic groundwater as in underground rivers dissolves the limestone, causing hollows and tunnels. Thousands of natural caves from holes to labyrinths exist in the Cretan landscape.
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A sedimentary rock, limestone is made of calcium carbonate (calcite) or a dual carbonate of calcium and magnesium, dolomite. It's composed of tiny fossils, shell fragments and other organic debris.
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Limestone caves are the most common and potentially awe-inspiring of caverns. From a small hole in a hill an ancient world opens up.
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Porous limestone is the perfect rock for making caves. Packed with minerals it dissolves in rainwater or groundwater to drip down through cracks and from ceilings to form glistening columns, stalactites, stalagmites and organic sculpture.
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The cave-making process can form towering pillars and, to the animistic eye, shapes resembling animals, monsters or spirits. For early people caves are the abode of gods both dark and light. Caves link to the subterranean world, death and the unknown.
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Constant seismic activity caused by shifting tectonic plates heats up rock and water far below. Steam releases through vents or caverns, like the breath of a dragon. Some chasms vent toxic gasses. These have been used to induce visions or prophecy, as at Deliphi.
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In the early Bronze Age Kronion is a well-used cave site on Crete. There are several, including in the so-called Gorge of the Dead, a site of numerous cave burials. Today, off the beaten track and easily missed, it's a footnote.
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In the Neolithic era the Trapeza cave is a center of cult worship and religious sanctuary. Later, people move in for a longer stay. Artifacts of pre-Minoan origin are uncovered. Excavations show Minoans use the cave as a burial site.
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Throughout history, Cretans have used caves as shelters, places of refuge, tombs for the dead and shrines to deities. Many caves have seen more than one of these uses. Though Trapeza is a modestly sized site, it's a center of importance for hundreds of years.
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