Шандаља

The Šandalja cave system consists of two interconnected caverns located 4 kilometers northeast of Pula's center, discovered during quarry operations in 1960.

Excavations in 1961 revealed Homo erectus remains dating back 900,000 years, making these findings among the earliest human traces discovered in Europe.

The name derives from Saint Daniel hill, where researchers uncovered substantial evidence of early human settlements through multiple sediment layers containing prehistoric tools.

Visitors need to park at designated coordinates and walk 600 meters along a marked path to reach the caves, bringing flashlights for exploration.

The cave contained nine meters of sediment layers, yielding Gravettian and Aurignacian artifacts from different periods between 30,000 and 21,000 years ago.

GPS coordinates: 44.88083,13.89042

Latest update: September 6, 2025 01:30