Paging the Bad Archaelogist

[reprise]

Josh, what do you know about the Greek village and cave system Pirgos (alternate spelling pyrgos) Dirou. I'm especially interested in how the village and caves were named. I know that pirgos means 'tower' in Greek, so that part is self-explanatory.

[Checkmite]

Originally posted by reprise
Josh, what do you know about the Greek village and cave system Pirgos (alternate spelling pyrgos) Dirou. I'm especially interested in how the village and caves were named. I know that pirgos means 'tower' in Greek, so that part is self-explanatory.

The Diros Caves are a huge natural subterranean complex that stretches for miles beneath the seaside cliffs of the Mani peninsula. They enclose a river which runs through them from somewhere inland to the sea. They've not been fully explored - that is, the end of them hasn't been found, but there are commercial boat tours (yes, boat tours) available that allow you to explore some of them. Nearby and part of the same system is the Alepotrypa cave, which shows evidence of human occupation (paleo- or neolithic, contemporary anyway with the Maltese hypogeum). Skeletons have been found with tools and effects - they weren't buried, which leads some to believe that an earthquake or cavern collapse may have cut off their exit and trapped them in the cave until they slowly expired. This cave was actually discovered in modern times by a dog which chased a fox into its foxhole (which led into the caverns); the poor dog took 3 days to find its way back out.

Pirgos Diru literally means "Diru's Tower (or Castle)" in Greek, and the "Diru" in question is most likely the explorer or leader of the group which founded the town; you'd probably have to visit and request information from the town itself to find out exactly who he was. The Diros caves are in turn named after this mystery person as well (using a variation). The area is a great place to explore above-ground, away from the towns...there are dozens of very old stone churches hiding here and there in the woods and fields, and you could spend days trying to find them all.

[reprise]

Thank you kindly sir. :)