Ancient Civilizations Extraordinary Caves of the Underworld

These sacred places are home to some of the most spectacular geological formations around the world and these are just the beginning.

Caves are found throughout the world, but only a portion of them have been explored and documented by cavers. These sacred places are home to some of the most spectacular geological formations around the world and these are just the beginning.

Throughout history, primitive civilizations have made use of caves for shelter, burial tombs, or as religious sites. Since artifacts placed in caves are protected from the harsh climate and scavenging animals, this means caves are an archaeological treasure for knowledge about these people.

 
  Reed Flute Cave


The Reed Flute Cave is located at the Guangming Hill in the northwestern outskirts of the city. The cave is full of an immense number of stalactites, stalagmites, and rocks in all shapes and sizes. The cave is about 240 meters long.



Ajanta  


The first Buddhist cave monuments at Ajanta date from the 2nd and 1st centuries B.C. during the Gupta period. The paintings and sculptures of Ajanta, considered masterpieces of Buddhist religious art, have had a substantial artistic influence.


Melissani Caves, Kefalonia


In Greek mythology, Melissani was the cave of the nymphs. The cave features a lake that is surrounded with foliage and forests. The cave is located east of the mountains of Evmorfia and Agia Dynati.

 Melissani Caves, Kefalonia



In Greek mythology, Melissani was the cave of the nymphs. The cave features a lake that is surrounded with foliage and forests. The cave is located east of the mountains of Evmorfia and Agia Dynati.

Sea Caves Apostle Islands, Lake Superior

 

Candelaria Caves


The Candelaria Caves are located in an archaeological region typically known for its lack of large-scale ceremonial architecture. In fact, only one small temple has been found at Cancuen, while the other large site in the region, Raxruha Viejo, lacks temples completely. Instead, it appears that they were using the mountain-caves which mark the region as "tailor-made" temple pyramids. The caves are also one of the "birthplaces" of the Pasión-Usumacinta river structure, as the Río Candelaria, one of its tributaries, passes through the 4 principal caves. In fact, the river passes in and out of the cave system 7 times, which, "if current theories about the validity of applying ethnohistoric documents (in this case, the Popol Vuh) to the Classic Maya would also have been reminiscent of the "Seven Caves, Seven Canyons" of the creation myth."

Cave of Hams



Situated at Porto Cristo, in the east of Majorca, the Cave of Hams is renowned throughout the world for its delicately ramified dripstone formations. The unsurpassed exquisiteness of the Caves is heightened by the artistic illumination created by Lorenzo Caldentey, son of the discoverer.








Caves at Keri

The Caves at Keri are located on the southwest coast of Zakynthos (Zante) The Blue Caves, the Bat cave, the Seal Cave and several others, were created by the erosion of the rocks. They are impressive and the fluctuation of colors inside and outside the caves is marvelous.



Kongshan Baiyun Cave
The Kongshan Baiyun Cave is located to the west of the Lincheng County Seat, 50 kilometers away from Xingtai City. The local geography has created great cave formations. In this over 4,000 square meters cave, there are five interconnected halls and over two hundred scenes in which the stalactite, the stalagmite, the sheet, the stone waterfall can be seen. Furthermore, the ancient stalagmite group found on the ridge of the Kongshan Hill is unique in China and even rare in the world, for there has not been a similar discovery in other countries. They are very valuable for the research on the ancient climate, crust, and geological changes.



 Bhaja Caves


The Bhaja Caves, near the Karla Caves, are a group of 18 rock-cut caves dating back to 200 BC. The caves are located near Lonavala and Karli in the western state of Maharashtra between the cities of Mumbai and Pune in India. There are a group of 14 stupas, five inside and nine outside the caves. A stupa is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics, once thought to be places of Buddhist worship, typically the remains of a Buddha or saint.