Archaeologists have discovered a major Palaeolithic cave art site, arguably the most important found on the Eastern Iberian Coast in Europe.
Over a hundred ancient paintings and engravings, thought to be at least 24,000 years old, have been found in a 500 meter-long cave in ‘Cova Dones’ or ‘Cueva Dones’ – a site located in Millares near Valencia, Spain.
The cave site is well-known by locals and often visited by hikers and explorers, but the existence of Palaeolithic paintings was unnoticed until researchers from the universities of Zaragoza and Alicante (Spain), and affiliated to Archaeology at the University of Southampton (UK), made the exciting discovery in June 2021. Findings of a study into the cave art, which highlight its true significance, are now published in the journal Antiquity (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/cova-dones-a-major-palaeolithic-cave-art-site-in-eastern-iberia/209249A848B919CE653531CB85856DEC).
The research team of Dr Ruiz-Redondo, Dr Virginia Barciela-González, Senior Lecturer of Prehistory at the University of Alicante (Spain) and Dr Ximo Martorell-Briz, research affiliate at the University of Alicante (Spain), have painstakingly documented over a hundred ‘motifs’, or designs, at Cova Dones so far.
The large number of motifs and the variety of techniques involved in their creation make the cave the most important Palaeolithic cave art site on the eastern Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula. In fact, it is probably the Palaeolithic cave with the greatest number of motifs discovered in Europe since Atxurra (Bizkaia), in 2015. The study highlights there are at least 19 confirmed animal representations, including hinds, horses, aurochs, and deer.
Unusually, the majority of the paintings have been made using clay. Although painting in clay is known in Palaeolithic Art, examples of its usage (or preservation) are scarce. In Cueva Dones, however, it is the main technique. The researchers say their investigations are at an early stage and there are still many areas to survey and panels to document – so they are likely to reveal more art in the coming years.
AR #101
Neanderthals & Civilization
by Martin Ruggles
