Archeologists have found a significant paleolithic cavern workmanship site, seemingly the main one tracked down on the Eastern Iberian Coast in Europe.
In excess of 100 old compositions and etchings, remembered to be something like 24,000 years of age, have been found in a 500-meter-long collapse called “Cova Dones” or “Cueva Dones—a site situated in Millares, close to Valencia in Spain.
The cavern site is noted by local people and frequently visited by climbers and adventurers, yet the presence of paleolithic artistic creations was inconspicuous until analysts from the colleges of Zaragoza and Alicante (Spain) and associated with archaic exploration at the College of Southampton (U.K.) made the astonishing disclosure in June 2021.
Discoveries from a review of the cavern workmanship, which feature its actual importance, are currently distributed in the diary Vestige.
Dr. Aitor Ruiz-Redondo, Senior Instructor of Ancient Times at the College of Zaragoza (Spain) and examination member at the College of Southampton (U.K.), remarks, “When we saw the first painted auroch [extinct wild bull], we quickly recognized it was significant. In spite of the fact that Spain is the country with the largest number of Paleolithic cavern workmanship destinations, a large portion of them are gathered in northern Spain. Eastern Iberia is a region where not many of these destinations have been recorded up until this point.
“Be that as it may, the genuine ‘shock’ of understanding its importance came long after the main disclosure. When we started the legitimate, precise overview, we understood we were confronting a significant cavern workmanship site, similar to the ones that can be found somewhere else in Cantabrian Spain, southern France, or Andalusia, but that thoroughly needs this domain.”
Two painted hind heads Credit: Ruiz-Redondo/Barciela/Martorell
The exploration group of Dr. Ruiz-Redondo, Dr. Virginia Barciela-González, Senior Teacher of Ancient Times at the College of Alicante (Spain), and Dr. Ximo Martorell-Briz, research partner at the College of Alicante (Spain), have meticulously recorded more than 100 themes, or plans, at Cova Dones up until this point.
The enormous number of themes and the range of methods associated with their creation make the cavern the main Paleolithic cavern craftsmanship site on the eastern Mediterranean bank of the Iberian Landmass. Truth be told, it is most likely the Paleolithic cavern with the best number of themes found in Europe since Atxurra (Bizkaia) in 2015.
The review features There are somewhere around 19 confirmed creature portrayals, including hinds, ponies, aurochs, and deer. Abnormally, most of the artistic creations have been made using earth.
Dr. Aitor Ruiz-Redondo makes sense of, “Creatures and signs were portrayed just by hauling the fingers and palms covered with earth on the walls. The damp climate of the cavern wrapped up: the ‘artworks’ dried gradually, keeping portions of the earth from tumbling down quickly, while different parts were covered by calcite layers, which saved them until now.”
Despite the fact that the composition of dirt is known from Paleolithic workmanship, instances of its use (or safeguarding) are scant. In Cueva Dones, in any case, it is the principal procedure.
The scientists say their examinations are in the beginning phase, and there are as yet numerous regions to review and boards to report, so they are probably going to uncover more workmanship before long.
More information: Aitor Ruiz-Redondo et al, Cova Dones: a major Palaeolithic cave art site in eastern Iberia, Antiquity (2023). DOI: 10.15184/aqy.2023.133
