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 metre-long cave in ‘Cova Dones’ or ‘Cueva Dones’ – a site located in Millares near Valencia in 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.1

  • 1. Dr Aitor Ruiz-Redondo, Senior Lecturer of Prehistory at the University of Zaragoza (Spain) and research affiliate at the University of Southampton (UK) comments: “When we saw the first painted auroch [extinct wild bull], we immediately acknowledged it was important. Although Spain is the country with largest number of Palaeolithic cave art sites, most of them are concentrated in northern Spain. Eastern Iberia is an area where few of these sites have been documented so far.
Figure 2. a) painted aurochs head; b) horse head made with clay; c) panel with several motifs painted with clay, including animals and signs (some partly covered by calcite layers).
Figure 2. a) painted aurochs head; b) horse head made with clay; c) panel with several motifs painted with clay, including animals and signs (some partly covered by calcite layers). - (figure by the authors)

Aitor Ruiz-Redondo, Virginia Barciela, Ximo Martorell. Cova Dones: a major Palaeolithic cave art site in eastern Iberia. Antiquity, 2023; 1 DOI: 10.15184/aqy.2023.133

Abstract: This article presents details of the recent discovery of Palaeolithic cave art in Cova Dones, Valencia. The preliminary results reveal a rich graphic assemblage with features that are unusual for Mediterranean Upper Palaeolithic art and were previously unknown for the Pleistocene in the eastern Iberian coast.

Introduction: Traditionally, the distribution of Pleistocene cave art has centred on the Franco–Cantabrian region with a ‘periphery’ including areas of southern Spain and Italy. More than 70 per cent of known Palaeolithic rock art sites are in this region; however, in recent years, there have been discoveries across Europe and Asia (for a compilation, see Ruiz-Redondo, Reference Ruiz-Redondo, Moro-Abadía, Conkey and McDonaldin press). Discoveries outside the Franco–Cantabrian area are always relevant to enhancing knowledge of Palaeolithic symbolism.

Along the eastern Iberian coast, the situation is paradoxical. Although this area hosts the most important Pleistocene mobiliary art site in terms of decorated items (‘Parpalló’: Villaverde Reference Villaverde1994), Palaeolithic cave art sites are sparse: nine are reliably identified as Pleistocene, with up to 21 possible in total (Villaverde Reference Villaverde and López2020: 27). The low occurrence of painted figures is especially striking because there are only three, at most, in the combined territories of Valencian Community and Catalonia.

Figure 4. a) detail of a thick calcite layer partly covering a hind's head; b) detail of a bear-claw mark overlapping some finger flutings.
Figure 4. a) detail of a thick calcite layer partly covering a hind's head; b) detail of a bear-claw mark overlapping some finger flutings. - (figure by the authors)