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LOCATION Barrio El Churi, Escobedo de Camargo.
CONDITIONS OF THE VISITS
The visit is realized in groups of 20 person’s maximum all the year round and in company of a guide. It has an approximate duration of 45 minutes.
TIMETABLE
The cave is close on January 1st and 6th and December 24th, 25th and 31st.
- From 1st November to 28th February, of 9:30 a.m. to 15:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday is closed. Visit with previous reservation on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Opened on Saturdays, Sundays and festive.
- From 1st March to 14th June and from 15th September to 31th October, of 9:30 a.m. to 14:30 p.m. and of 15:30 p.m. to 18:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday is closed. Visit with previous reservation on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Opened on Saturdays, Sundays and festive.
- From 15th June to 14th September, of 9:30 a.m. to 14:30 p.m. (last visit 13:40 p.m.) and of 15:30 p.m. to 19:30 p.m. (last visit 18:40 p.m.). Monday is closed.
RATES
Normal: 3 € (major of 12 years)
Reduced: 1, 5 € (from 4 to 12 years, both inclusive)
Free: from 0 to 3 years (both inclusive)
FACILITIES
The centre has the following facilities available:
- Visitor service point
- Car park for cars
- Guided visit
- Toilets
ACCESS
On the CN-623 road, at Revilla de Camargo, take the turn off heading for Puente Arce (CA-240). Then at Escobedo, head for the El Churi district where the cavity lies. Access, in the final stretch, is by a narrow path not suitable for buses or coaches.
DESCRIPTION
In the heart of the Camargo valley, near the village of Escobedo, we find this cave with a large opening and monumental sized entrance. It was discovered in 1878 by Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola. Since then, it has been subjected to numerous archaeological explorations, the latest with the discovery of an important panel of red paintings, in 1997.
Research into this archaeological site has provided key information, and likewise applies to the El Castillo cave, as regards knowledge of human and technological evolution and the behavior of Homo Neanderthal and Homo sapiens. Thus, the stratigraphic and archaeological sequence, commencing at least 82,000 B.C. reaching up to 1,500 B.C., are a major focus of scientific debate.
Apart from shedding light on activities to do with every day life, this important set of portable art and decorative elements, associated with the first occupations by Homo sapiens, point to the fact that the underground space was used for other social purposes. During the Bronze Age, on the brink of our own society, the use of space for ritual purposes is noted since "offerings" deposited among the chaos of blocks have been found.
The most striking example of symbolic behavior are the cave wall artistic expressions found here. Up until the recent discovery of the "Painting Frieze", only two engraved figures were known of (at least one is a bird) in the deepest part of the cavity.
The "Painting Frieze", a 25 meters long panel visible from all over the main vestibule, contains, by way of a large retable, twenty or so figures painted red. Highlighted here are twelve hind, accompanied by a goat, a horse, two indefinite zoomorphs and various types of signs such as dots, discs and lines, which are generally segregated over the panels where quadrupeds can be seen.
And as in the case of Covalanas, figures are displayed with a dotted outline, either by hand or inked. Some of the motifs reveal technical complementariness by combining the previous means of execution with a linear trace.
The inclusion of figures on the frieze, the technical similarities in the drawing and style (internal divisions, total or partial coloured fillings, etc.) mark a compositional unity in the paintings highlighting synchrony in execution.
The chronology, which is difficult to determine with any precision, would seem to be in an ancient period, around 20,000 B.C.
BOOKINGS
| Telephone: (+34) 942 25 92 14 . Fax: (+34) 942 25 92 14 . |
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© Consejería de Cultura, Turismo y Deporte. Gobierno de Cantabria | Private Zone | Telephone +34 942 59 84 25 | Fax +34 942 59 83 05 |
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