Editing Corycian Cave (section)

== Cave exploration and archaeology ==

=== Artifacts found ===
[[File:Verschiedene_Würfel_und_Astragal_(2).jpg|thumb|Ancient astragal—similar to those excavated from Corycian Cave]]
The Corycian Cave was excavated in 1969 by French hellenist Pierre Amandry and his team from the French School of Athens. During the excavation they found many artifacts and vessels left by ancient worshippers. The majority of objects found were made out of livestock bone. This included 22,000 astragals, which were primarily from sheep and goats, that were made out of talus, a large bone that protrudes from the ankle. The astragals were believed to be primarily used in games of chance, similar to the modern day dice. Of the 22,000 found, 2,500 were found to have been purposefully smoothed down and pierced so that a leather thread could go through them to form a necklace (36 were set in lead and 2 in gold). Also in the Corycian Cave, archeologists found a variety of rings, bronze figurines, ceramics, metal objects, as well as several wind instruments such as the auloi.<ref name="McInerney pp 263–283"/>

Although there were some instances in the cave where gold was found, the most common vessels found were that of bone of deer, sheep, and goat. Artifacts found at the Corycian Cave point to the majority of worshippers being shepherds, goatherds, and hunters due to the lack of more expensive gifts left at the cave.