Prehistoric caves have given us many archaeological joys in Spain. They keep giving them and They help us unravel mysteries. In this sense, Altamira’s are Peninsula archaeological crown jewelbut there is Many other caves that have served different purposes for millennia and that today They have become a tourist claim for its natural beauty forged over thousands of years.
However, there are some that have not been at the mercy of nature and, until recently, they remained enclaves in which human activity was present. One of them is that of Eye Guareña, which is also the second karst complex bigger of the Iberian Peninsula, only behind the Mortillano system.
Karst complexes. They are the result of a process of dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestones and dolomites, as well as minerals such as plaster, due to water action. Over the centuries, this process of chemical weathering generates caves and a drain that reduces the amount of surface water, so galleries are generated in which humanity has been able to enter.
They are very characteristic caves due to the presence of formations such as stalactites and stalagmites, which also gives a mystical aura to these places. And, due to their own condition of caves, many of these karst complexes have served as a refuge in prehistory, so they have become valuable archaeological and paleontological sites. The aforementioned Altamira, without going any further.
Guareña eye. To the north of the province of Burgos there is another of these formations, a very special for several reasons. One is that of its dimensions, since the Cuevas de Eye Guareña have more than 110 kilometers of galleries and it is estimated that they are composed of about 400 cavities. It has a few awards (natural monument, well of cultural interest and place of community importance), and it is not for less.
It stands out for its biodiversity with 16 species of endemic invertebrates, their own dimensions and for the archaeological findings that have occurred. And it is fascinating that 14 caves are communicated among them in a complex equivalent to about six floors.
Time Museum. My intention is not to remove merit from the archaeological remains found in the place, but it was still one more cave, a shelter, for the inhabitants of the Paleolithic. They were, therefore, cave paintings, weapons, bones, Neanderthal teeth, fossilized traces of barefoot and ceramics. When humanity evolved and began to found towns and cities, the caves were abandoned and used in cases counted as a sporadic warehouse or refuge (in a war situation, for example).
However, in the case of Eye Guareña, it was not so much like that. These archaeological remains correspond to the different cultures that have been happening in the Peninsula, to the point that there are paintings of the Paleolithic, postpaleolithic, bronze and iron age.
This report from Castilla y León Televisión is fantastic
Sanctuary. One of the findings was relatively recent, in 2019. It was a skeleton of someone who, we estimate, was lost in the caves. He died there because the caves are labyrinthine and carried their trousseau, which allowed date To this person as an individual of the VI AC and it is also estimated that several of the caves did the functions of ‘sanctuaries’ or centers of cult for populations. And this function is not something that will be anchored in the past.
Next to the main entrance of Eye Guareña, they built the San Bernabé hermitage. It is not known for sure when it occurred, driving dates between the 5th and XIII centuries. What is known is that, during a millennium, and until 1924the hermitage was the meeting point of the Council of Merindad -the Burgos Municipality Merindad de Sotoscueva. Apart from the building itself, integrated in the rock as if it were a decoration of ‘The Lord of the Rings’, something worth seeing are the frescoes of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries with scenes of Christianity.
And tourism. It is a place where prehistoric art coexists with that of just 200 years ago, as if an encyclopedia of the artistic history of humanity was. And currently still has its importance. On Saturday, June 11, the pilgrimage is celebrated, with the hermitage as the protagonist. And, of course, the tourism It is also something present in such a area, with options ranging from three to six euros, depending on age.
There are several types of excursions. The quietest is that of the hermitage, which includes a visit to 400 meters of galleries. For the most adventurers, and for a higher price, there are longer tours of Palomera and Sima Cueva ailments, a cave that is not conditioned and in which the entry to children under 12 years is not allowed. And if you have less than 18, you must also go with an adult.
In the end, Eye Guareña is not only an imposing karst complex or an archaeological site, but a sample of the passage of time and how the same space has served as similar to humanity for thousands of years.
Images | Televisión Castilla y León, Roberto Lumbreras, Eliana Alvoz
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