Aziz Norouzi was 81. He lived in the cave for 61 years in Alian village near the city of Fouman in Gilan Province in northern Iran.
One theory has it that the man chose to live in the cave alone was love failure in youth. But an Iranian news agency rejects this as a lie and says he started living as a caveman after he lost his parents at the age of 18 and he was snubbed by his relatives.
Aziz was said to make a living by selling wood.
