cave dwelling 221
In the Mediterranean, caves—often seen as magical or supernatural—have
consistently served as places of religious worship, liminal spaces where communication
between the human and the divine was possible. In the Roman era, underground cave
shrines called mithraea were sites for the worship of the god Mithras, while caves also
served as temples for other deities. Christianity had a close association with caves from
its very beginnings. Many important episodes in the life of Jesus took place in caves,
including his burial, his ascension, and, in some traditions, his birth. In many parts of
the Mediterranean, early Christians built underground structures to bury their dead.
Christian catacombs could grow to be large and sophisticated structures. In Rome,
catacombs up to five levels with connecting passageways were used for burials from
about 150 ce until the early fifth century; after that they continued to serve as cult sites
for Christians who wished to visit the tombs of martyrs. In other places as well cult
centers arose in urban catacombs around the tombs of martyrs and other early Christian
saints. Christian asceticism was also linked to caves early on. Already in the fourth cen-
tury ascetics were seeking out caves as places to lead solitary religious lives. Caves were
seen at the time as seats or passageways for demons, and monks living in caves often
fought battles with them. Christian cave shrines, like the one dedicated to the Archangel
Michael in southern Italy at the end of the fifth century, appeared at this time as well.
Later on, caves were associated with Islam. Muhammad frequently meditated in the
cave of Hira, where he received his first revelation. The Prophet also took refuge in a
cave on his way to Madina, to escape his Qurayshi enemies.
Mediterranean cave living and cut-rock architecture reached their peak during the
Middle Ages. As new techniques were developed for building and carving out spaces
and for constructing hydraulic and defensive systems, the number of cave settlements
and rupestrian structures increased noticeably. Sophisticated cave complexes and
architectural structures offered creative solutions to the problems posed by the
Mediterranean’s climatic, environmental, and geomorphological conditions. In cer-
tain Mediterranean regions, such as southern Italy, the use of caves and cut-rock
architecture became pervasive enough to give rise to what some scholars refer to as a
“rupestrian” or “troglodyte” civilization.
In some cases troglodyte and hypogean structures in the Middle Ages were used as
temporary shelters. In Cappadocia underground cities functioned as places of refuge
in times of danger; in Syria and Sicily castles and fortresses were carved into rock. In
North Africa, farmers lived in caves placed near fields at certain times of the year, par-
ticularly during planting and harvest season, while in southern Italy troglodyte shel-
ters were seasonal residences for pastoralists (Besana and Mainetti, 2000: 7–8; Caprara,
2001: 155–156, 228). Nonetheless, in many parts of the medieval Mediterranean
caves and hypogea served as permanent living quarters for the population.
While the size and form of the troglodyte settlements varied from place to place,
the two most common techniques for creating cave dwellings were digging horizon-
tally into the side of a ravine or valley wall, or excavating vertically to create well-like
structures and then cutting rooms and spaces out to the sides. In a few places, such as
Cappadocia, underground cities were built.
Over the centuries scholars have posited many reasons for the increased use
of caves in the Middle Ages. For a long time the rupestrian remains in places such
as southern Italy and Cappadocia were connected to monasticism, and more
specifically to Byzantine eremitism. Scholars believed the troglodyte settlements