SIEGA VERDE

Siega Verde and Côa, located on the other side of the border, in Portugal, form the largest set of rock engravings in the free air of the Iberian Peninsula. If the presence and location of the engravings had long been known to local populations, especially shepherds, no one suspected their age. It was only in 1988 that a excavations campaign uncovered the engravings as a whole, by cleaning the foams and lychens them. We are then aware of their seniority and importance. Prior to being classified as a World Heritage for Humanity, in 2010, the site unfortunately remained for many years in free access and suffered a great deal of damage and vandalism. Guided tours, therefore, are limited to 5 rocks decorated on a normal visit or 14 rocks on a long visit. The entire site has 646 engravings in total.

The visit begins with that of the interpretation centre. Supported on the rock, with a very red hue due to its high iron oxide content, the first room offers each reading several thematic spaces: the face of Europe 20 000 years ago, the main discoveries of rock art in Europe, the tools used for engravings, dating methods… A documentary then plunges us into the everyday life of those who have thus decorated the rock blocks on the shores of the Río River for centuries.

It is then the descent to the shores of the río where the engravings are concentrated, over 1 km. Their density is exceptional, since they are more than in Côa, where they span a surface of 20 000 km ². A total of five rocks are the tour route, but many others are scattered around the circuit for conservation purposes. 91 rocks decorated with engravings were recorded in total. The visible sample nevertheless very well reflects what the site can offer: a large set of representations of animals carried out on schist outcrops scattered on the left bank of the Águeda River, carried out with incision or picketing techniques. The figures are usually presented in small groups of 2 to 6 associations in medium and large size panels, but there are also many isolated figures represented on small rocky outcrops. It is more likely an area of passage than a residential area. The natural corridor created by the Río River was followed by animals, themselves followed by hunters.

In the representations of Siega Verde, the horse is the dominant animal. The first set of engravings visible on the site presents a 90 cm horse design, surrounded by four smaller ones. The guided tour will help you distinguish between each other's figures and even identify them because some of them are really difficult to discern.

If you push down to the foot of the bridge, you will see that one of the pillars has been built on an engraved rock and one can see on the latter the body of a horse by the head cut by the book. The workers at the time had not even seen what they had saccagé! However, their action was not so harmful: the intact part has been protected from the current during the flood by the pillar and is very well preserved.

The interpretation centre team organizes night visits (8 people. maximum), which makes it possible to highlight engravings with torches. On reservation (10 pers. maximum), a more extensive visit of the site, with 14 rocks instead of 5, is also possible, counting a full day. Guided tours are offered in English and French.