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Verteba Cave (Ukrainian: Печера Вертеба) is a unique gypsum cave located near the village of Bilche-Zolote in the Ternopil region of Ukraine. It is part of the massive Podillia cave system but is distinct from its neighbors because of its unparalleled archaeological significance. The cave system is over 8 km (about 5 miles) long, consisting of wide galleries and narrow passages carved into gypsum. The walls are often dark, covered in soot from ancient fires and manganese deposits.
Often called the "Pompeii of the Trypillia Culture," it is famous for containing an immense wealth of well-preserved artifacts from the Cucuteni-Trypillia culture (approx. 5000–3000 BCE).
Unlike most Trypillian sites, which were surface settlements that were often ritually burned, Verteba served as a temporary sanctuary, shelter, or ritual site for centuries. The stable underground environment preserved bone, pottery, and figurines exceptionally well.
Verteba houses Ukraine's only underground museum of the Trypillia culture. Visitors can walk through the labyrinthine galleries and see dioramas of Neolithic life and artifacts in situ (in their original place of discovery).
During WWII, the cave served as a hiding place for local Jewish families who lived in total darkness for months to escape Nazi persecution—a story of survival rediscovered in recent decades.
In 2005-2014 MALA participated in excavations and conducted molecualr archaeology research of the artifacts from Verteba Cave. Human remains found in the cave have provided crucial genetic data, revealing that Trypillians had ancestry from both Anatolian farmers and Balkan hunter-gatherers. It was also determined that Trypillians from Verteba harbored small ancestry component from the migrants of an Early Ochre Grave Complex (see the Trypillia culture page for details).
Molecular archaeology investigations by MALA and research partners resulted in a number of publications, highlighting genetic ancestry, mobility and diet of individuals interred within the cave:
Mathieson I, et al. (2018) The Genomic History Of Southeastern Europe. Nature 555: 197-203. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature25778
Nikitin AG, Potekhina I, Rohland N, Mallick S, Reich D, Lillie M. (2017) Mitochondrial DNA analysis of Eneolithic Trypillians from Ukraine reveals Neolithic farming genetic roots. PLoS ONE 12(2): e0172952. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0172952
Lillie MC, Budd CE, Potekhina I, Price TD, Sokhatsky MP, Nikitin AG. (2017) First isotope analysis and new radiocarbon dating of Trypillia (Tripolye) farmers from Verteba Cave, Bilche Zolote, Ukraine. Documenta Praehistorica XLIV: 306-324. https://doi.org/10.4312/dp.44.18
Lillie, MC, Potekhina, ID, Nikitin, AG, Sokhatsky, M. P. (2015) First evidence for interpersonal violence in Ukraine’s Trypillian farming culture: Individual 3 from Verteba Cave, Bilche Zolote, Ukraine. In: K. Gerdau-Radonić, K. McSweeney (Eds.), Trends in Biological Anthropology 1. Oxbow Books: Oxford, pp. 54-60. Paper link
Nikitin AG. (2011) Bioarcheological analysis of Bronze Age human remains from the Podillya region of Ukraine. Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica 2(1): 31-36. Article link
Nikitin AG, Sokhatsky MP, Kovaliukh MM, Videiko MY. (2010) Comprehensive site chronology and ancient mitochondrial DNA analysis from Verteba Cave - a Trypillian culture site of Eneolithic Ukraine. Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica 1(1-2): 9–18. Article link
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