The Praileaitz Cave (

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

for ''Rock of the Monk'' cave) is located in the municipality of Deba (

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzcoa ; french: Guipuscoa) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French de ...

, Basque Country). Early in August 2006, various paleolithic cave paintings were found during an archaeological excavation - a non-figurative iconographic grouping made up of smaller groups of red dots, either isolated or forming a series. Researchers have surmised that the paintings were created c. 18,000 years BP. The cave also yielded an unusual set of portable art on pebbles, with abstract forms that, in one case, suggested to the researchers resembled the

Venus figurines A Venus figurine is any Upper Palaeolithic statuette portraying a woman, usually carved in the round.Fagan, Brian M., Beck, Charlotte, "Venus Figurines", ''The Oxford Companion to Archaeology'', 1996, Oxford University Press, pp. 740–741 Most ...

found elsewhere in Paleolithic Europe. It was dated to the Lower

Magdalenian The Magdalenian cultures (also Madelenian; French: ''Magdalénien'') are later cultures of the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic in western Europe. They date from around 17,000 to 12,000 years ago. It is named after the type site of La Madel ...

period of the

Cro-Magnon Early European modern humans (EEMH), or Cro-Magnons, were the first early modern humans (''Homo sapiens'') to settle in Europe, migrating from Western Asia, continuously occupying the continent possibly from as early as 56,800 years ago. They i ...

people.

Protection concerns

The cave is located next to the Sasiola Quarry, which presents a threat to the conservation of the paintings. On May 24, 2007, the Aranzadi Science Society proposed the establishment of a wide protective area around the cave. On July 17, 2007, the

Basque Government The Basque Government ( eu, Eusko Jaurlaritza, es, Gobierno Vasco) is the governing body of the Basque Autonomous Community of Spain. The head of the Basque government is known as the ''Lehendakari''. The Lehendakari is appointed by the Basque P ...

adopted (with Ezker Batua and

Eusko Alkartasuna Eusko Alkartasuna (; en, Basque Solidarity; es, Solidaridad Vasca; french: Solidarité basque) is a Basque nationalist and social-democratic political party operating in Spain and France. The Basque language name means ''Basque Solidarity'' an ...

voting against) a decree that established a 50-meter protective area around the "rock sanctuary." This level of protection was deemed insufficient by the Aranzadi Science Society, which was in charge of the archaeological excavation and studying the cave paintings.

External links

Cave paintings, discovered in Deba, Gipuzkoa

Praileaitz Cave Paintings Threatened by Mining

(in Spanish, news of the finding, with nice images)
Terrae Antiquae: ''Praileaitz''
(in Spanish) Archaeological sites in Spain Prehistoric sites in Spain Caves of Spain Basque history Landforms of the Basque Country (autonomous community) Art of the Upper Paleolithic {{BasqueCountry-geo-stub