The Karawanks were settled already in the Stone Age, as indicated particularly by findings from the Potok Cave. In Roman times, they represented the southern border of the Noricum province, and later, of the Slavic principality of Carantania. The ancient geographer Claudius Ptolemy mentioned the Karwankas mountains about 150 AD. The name probably is derived from Celtic karv (deer), a tradition that has survived in the Košuta (Slovene for hind) massif.