Spectacular Dobrudja and its treasures carved in stone: “La Adam” Cave and the cult of Mithras, Europe’s highest historical value natural monument

In the Gura Dobrogei Nature Reserve, situated east of Targusor village, there are two extremely important tourist attractions, both from a scientific, and from a historical perspective: The “La Adam” Cave and the “Gura Dobrogei” Cave.

“La Adam” Cave spans across a surface of 5 ha, and the entrance is ascending, passing through one single place. Seen from the outside it seems so ordinary that one cannot begin to guess the treasures held inside the cave.

The main gallery, with its impressive heights reaching up to 15 meters, is made up of numerous tortuous meanders. Thanks to chimneys reaching the surface, a part of the gallery is bathed in sunlight during the day, under the shape of beams that caress the fossil-decorated walls. Two other galleries branch out of the first, but are, unfortunately, so low that one can only crawl through them. Following research, it was acknowledged that the fossils belong to some very ancient geological eras, which may make us think of the beginning of life on earth. Hence the baptism name that the cave was given: “La Adam” - Adam, the first human of the earth. 80 fossils have been researched so far, and were considered to belong to the Jurassic and the Quaternary.

The pièce de résistance of the cave though is a molar identified as belonging to a Homo Sapiens Fossilis, who died in the cave some more than 120,000 years ago. Another interesting thing is the discovery of five pieces of carved stone which belonged to an altar dedicated to the cult of Mithras, the God of Light - an ancient divinity of Persian origin, extremely popular at the apogee of the Roman Empire.

Celebrated in general in the underground or in caves, Mithras was a god worshipped by soldiers, who considered him the god of sincerity and of loyalty. The “La Adam” cave is one of the few places in the country that remind us of such mysterious cult of Mithras.

The spiritual charge of the place is amplified by the fact that an old settlement was discovered near the cave, which was called “Ester”, a name related to the Old Testament. Go to Dobrudja, visit the Gura Dobrogei Nature Reserve and experience the ancient times!

Sources:

http://www.povestilemariinegre.ro/targusor-in-pestera-la-adam-la-altarul-zeului-mithras/

https://romania-nestiuta.webnode.ro/news/misterele-dobrogei-iii-pestera-la-adam/