Cueva de la Pileta (''Cave of the Pool'' in English) is a cave in the

province of Málaga The province of Málaga ( es, Provincia de Málaga ) is located in Andalusia, Spain. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the south and by the provinces of Cádiz to the west, Seville to the northwest, Córdoba to the north, and Granada to ...

(

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

) which has cave paintings and was discovered in 1905.

Investigation

It was investigated by Abbe

Henri Breuil Henri Édouard Prosper Breuil (28 February 1877 – 14 August 1961), often referred to as Abbé Breuil, was a French Catholic priest, archaeologist, anthropologist, ethnologist and geologist. He is noted for his studies of cave art in the Somme a ...

, a French

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

ethnologist Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology) ...

and

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

, who had come to Spain because of Colonel Verner's reporting of this important cave in

Benaoján Benaoján () is a town and municipality in the province of Málaga, part of the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. It is located within the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park. Its surface area is 32 km2. The municipality is si ...

, near

Ronda Ronda () is a town in the Spanish province of Málaga. It is located about west of the city of Málaga, within the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its population is about 35,000. Ronda is known for its cliff-side location and a deep chasm ...

. Verner had been told of the cave that had been discovered by a Spanish farmer called José Bullón in 1905 who was looking for bat

guano Guano (Spanish from qu, wanu) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. As a manure, guano is a highly effective fertilizer due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. G ...

around the original entrance in a place called the abyss of the bats. He had assumed that the cave markings were made by

Moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or ...

. He had found human remains and markings on the walls. Verner had himself lowered into the cave and later reported his findings which attracted international interest.cueva de la pileta
cuevadelapileta.es, accessed January 2013 Breuil was able to identify nearly fifty drawings and some of these resembled symbols. He stayed for two months funded by the Prince of Monaco. The final scientific paper was also authored by Verner. Breuil later showed interest in a

Devil's Tower Cave Devil's Tower Cave is a cave in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. Archaeologist Dorothy Garrod found a Neanderthal skull in the cave which, together with other evidence found in this cave, shows it was used as a rock shelter by the Nea ...

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

which eventually led to

Dorothy Garrod Dorothy Annie Elizabeth Garrod, CBE, FBA (5 May 1892 – 18 December 1968) was an English archaeologist who specialised in the Palaeolithic period. She held the position of Disney Professor of Archaeology at the University of Cambridge from 193 ...

discovering of the

Gibraltar 2 Gibraltar 2, also known as Devil's Tower Child, represented five skull fragments of a male Neanderthal child discovered in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The discovery of the fossils at the Devil's Tower (Gibraltar), Devil's Tower Mo ...

neanderthal skull.Devil's Tower Cave
, underground-gibraltar.com, accessed 20 January 2013

Reassessment

Both skeletons and pottery present indicated that the cave must have a better entrance and dating indicated that the remains went back to the Neolithic. Some of the wall decorations and skeletons were thought to be more recent and to have resulted from people who got lost in the cave. The son of the man who found the cave managed to find a better entrance in 1924 and that is the one used today. The same man made a discovery of an unknown chamber that gave access to galleries (Las Galerias Nuevas) which contained stalactites. These galleries linked up with known areas. A deep chasm is accessed down the longest of these galleries which is 350 metres long. A husband and wife team re-investigated the cave in 1978 including the newly discovered galleries. They were able to identify 134 paintings although those discovered by Breuil were now not identifiable. It has to be noted that there may be further Paleolithic paintings but many of the surfaces are now covered by

flowstone Flowstones are sheetlike deposits of calcite or other carbonate minerals, formed where water flows down the walls or along the floors of a cave. They are typically found in "solution caves", in limestone, where they are the most common speleothe ...

. Dating of the larger paintings has estimated them to be over 20,000 years old.

Today

The cave today is operated by Bullón's descendants who limit groups to no more than 20 people—as of 2017 reservations must be made in advance.

References

External links

Official website and booking in SpanishComprehensive tourist information about Ronda in English
{{Authority control Pileta Neanderthal sites