The oldest deposits of the Middle Palaeolithic at Theopetra date approximately between 50,000 and 40,000 BC. But according to geological indications, the earliest habitation of the cave can most probably be dated to 70,000 BC. In one of the lowest layers, traces of human footprints which date to 46,000±1600 years BP and belong probably to the anthropological type Neanderthal (Homo sapiens neanderthalensis) were revealed.



The most interesting deposits (in a thickness of 3 metres) of the Middle Palaeolithic date between 50,000 and 33,000 BP. The thick presence of ash and remains of hearths (?) is characteristic. The lithic assemblage of these layers is remarkable for its rarity and variety in artefacts which were produced mainly from green and clear grey radiolarite, a stone which abounds on the Pindos Mountains, in a radius of only 5-50 kilometres from the cave. Apart from radiolarite, quartz was used but to a lesser degree.
The lithic artefacts were worked with the technique Levallois and have provided the best examples of lithics of the Greek Middle Palaeolithic; such as bifacial pieces (handaxes), scrapers, denticulates, backed knives and a few characteristic mousterien leaf points.

Based on an analysis of the palaeobotanic samples, we infer that the Middle-Palaeolithic inhabitants of the cave collected fruits like blackberry, wild barley, lathyrus aphoca, large burdock berries, lithospermum, field gromwell, elder, wild almond, pea, clover etc. Nutritional needs were met in principle through hunting.