This is one of the many karstic caves, scattered throughout the Alta Murgia National Park. Overlooking a lama, or dry river bed, it became famous after the discovery of the Altamura Man on 3 October 1993. There may have been more entrances to the cave, but only two have been identified to date: the first is a 10 metre deep "ponor", or natural karstic surface opening, while the second is identified by a cone of rubble that renders it inaccessible. This cave is made up of limestone that formed 130 million years ago, as well as clays, alluvial deposits and red earth that formed between 1 million and 2 million years ago and originated in the adjacent lama from which it takes its name. It is about 60 metres long and between 40 centimetres and 2 metres in height. In addition to extraordinary stalactites, stalagmites and columns, numerous paleontological finds have also been made in the cave, including remains of ungulates (deerlike, bovine and equine species) as well as carnivores (hyenas, wolves and foxes). It might well have been the entrance to the cave, today blocked up, that acted as a trap for the Altamura Man: having fallen inside accidentally, he would have searched in vain for an exit and eventually died of cold and hunger. Probably flowing water decomposed the skeleton and carried the remains to the floor of the cave where they became embedded in the rock. The hominid discovered is an adult male (standing 160 centimetres tall) who lived in the Mid to Upper Pleistocene. The skeleton was complete and covered with calcite crystals. What is exceptional about this find is the fact that it represents evidence of the evolution from Homo Erectus (dating from 400,000 years ago) - of which it retains the supraorbital thickening, nasal aperture and robust jaw - to Neanderthal man (dating from 85,000 years ago), to which the skeleton is similar in terms of height and the shape of the skull. Recent studies of some of the finds made at the site indicate that the skeleton is between 128,000 and 187,000 years old. The cave is not open to the public but the Lamalunga Visitor Centre, located at the Masseria Ragone close by, together with the Palazzo Baldassare in the centre of Altamura, allow a full understanding of the life of the Altamura Man and of the cave in which he was found.