Vernoferto Caves

In August 1968 Paul Faure discovered and studied a rare cave painting in Vernofeto cave, located on the western side of Kapparo Kefala mountain, near Pervolakia village.

It is one of the few caves in Crete today that contains paintings, and it is dated to 1400b.C.

The paint is in pen with black cuttlefish ink, enriched with calcite.

It depicts a scene connected to hunting and fishing. At its centre there is a female form, which according to relevant bibliography, is a goddess.

According to this bibliography these scenes are of religious interest.

For Paul Faure the cave is not a holy cave of the kind one comes across often in Crete.

According to other researchers the figures in the cave that can be discerned are addressed to the gods of hunting and the cave was used for ceremonies of priestly magic.

Translated and edited by: Yallou