Cova de les Calaveres
| Cova de les Calaveres
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| Location: | Costa Blanca, Spain | |
| Height : | 75 msnm | |
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Geographic location: |
38 ° 47 '35.6 " N , 0 ° 1' 2.2" W | |
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| Geology: | Lower Cretaceous Limestone | |
| Type: | Stalactite cave | |
| Discovery: | 1768 | |
| Overall length: | 440 m | |
| Level difference: | 50 m | |
| Length of the show cave area: |
240 m | |
| Particularities: | Archaeological finds from Paleolithic to Roman times | |
| Website: | The cave on the Benidoleig site | |
The Cova de les Calaveres (Valencian) or Cueva de las Calaveras (Spanish) ( "Skull Cave") is a cave in the region of Valencia in Spain . It is located on the south side of the Girona valley, which widens here to the coastal plain , at an altitude of 75 meters and around 1000 m from the town of Benidoleig . Part of the cave is below the water table.
With dimensions of 440 meters in length and up to 50 meters in height, the cave is not one of the largest on the Costa Blanca , but has numerous interesting traces of people that go back to the Paleolithic . Since then, it has repeatedly served people as shelter and protection. Today you can visit the cave.
history
The Spanish botanist Antonio José Cavanilles is considered to be the discoverer of the cave. He reported the first archaeological finds in 1768 on the occasion of test drillings for water, the presence of which in the cave was already known. Henri Breuil showed first scientific interest in the cave known as prehistoric living space in 1913 . The Spanish prehistorian Francisco Jordá Cerdá , who was born in Alcoy , reported that in 1936 the floor of the vestibule was covered with a 50 cm thick layer of cement in order to use it as an ammunition store during the civil war of 1936–1939.
Breuil dated the oldest finds to more than 40,000 years before our era. Bones of horses, goats, deer, wild boars, rabbits, bears, cave lions, hyenas and hippos have been found. The molar of a rhinoceros is now kept in the Archaeological Museum of Alicante ( MARQ - Museo Arqueológico de Alicante ) along with stones and arrowheads and other objects of that time . The formation of the cave happened about 150 million years ago. Archaeologists found the remains (skulls, bones, teeth) of twelve cave dwellers in the cave, who, it is believed, drowned in a depression in the cave due to a heavy downpour that prevented them from returning.
description
Originally the cave entrance was covered by lush vegetation, so that an entry opening above the cave entrance was used, which can still be reached today via a staircase. The temperature in the cave between 18 and 19 degrees and the always available water made the cave very suitable as a dwelling. The smoke rising from the fire could escape upwards through three openings. The ceiling of the cave entrance is blackened with soot by the fires ignited by the residents to protect against intruding predators. While the walls in the front part of the cave rise relatively smoothly, the walls and ceilings in the rear part are strongly fissured and formed by stalagmites and stalactites . During the initial exploration, the cave floor was littered with rocks and broken wall and ceiling formations. Today the floor is covered with a wooden walkway over 400 m long. At the end of the path there is an inaccessible lake.
Legends
People have always thought about the use of the cave, and so it is not surprising that stories emerged that can be classified as legends. The Moorish king Ali Moho is said to have fled from his seat at the castle of Castell de Castells, only 20 km away, into the cave for fear of the advancing Campeador El Cid , after he had found it by scouts. He moved in with his entire harem of 150 women and then found that there was no more escape. Legend has two causes of death: death from drugs or being buried in a landslide. When the cave covered by plants was discovered, the 150 skulls were found in a circle and gave the cave its current name. From this it also concludes that the landslide version is probably wrong.
Another story tells of residents of the coastal town of Dénia who, in search of water, discovered the cave, emptied the large lake it contained and located another cave behind it, in which they found a wooden boat, two metal clubs and two skulls. These could come from two people who were researching the cave and later no longer found the exit, or: “from the king and his executioner who drugged the slaves and tried to find another exit with the boat and the treasure Find. When they did not find it, they died. The treasure may now be in the deep waters or inside the earth from where the precious metals and gemstones were once recovered. "
Impressions
Cave entrance with display boards
On the wrong track
Large stalactite hanging from the ceiling
Ceiling formation
swell
- Multilingual brochure from the tourist information office
