CAVE DE LAS MONEDAS

The Las Monedas cave is a neighbour of the El Castillo cave, from which it is only about 675 metres away, and contains the longest route of all the known caves in Monte El Castillo, an impressive limestone complex on the banks of the River Pas. It has not yielded any traces of human occupation except for a few occasional passages dating back to the Bronze Age. In 1932, a child from the village entered the cave to take shelter from the rain. But it took him two decades to find the entrance to this providential refuge and it was not until 1952, when excavations were taking place in the cave of El Castillo, that he became a forest ranger and found access by clearing the paths. He then warned the archaeologists present at the site who explored the cave and discovered the paintings. Of the 800 meters long cave, only about 200 meters can be visited, but they offer a fabulous show.

Like El Castillo, the Las Monedas cave is interesting from a geologicalpoint of view, with its amazingly shaped rock formations, stalagmites, suspended terraces, numerous potholes created by swirling water and multicoloured stone cascades. Every corner is an enchantment for the eyes and the imagination.

The paintings, most of which are carbon-based, date back to the late Paleolithic period. One will see a Prjevalski horse, a bear, reindeer, goats and bison as well as sets of lines that are difficult to interpret. They are concentrated in a small maze that follows the first large room. The horse and reindeer are represented in an unusual position: back to back, vertically. Under a small rocky protrusion have been drawn a head and chest of a horse. It is impossible to see it without knowing it, but if you pay attention, with a little light, the drawing is reflected in the puddle of water located just below the projection. Studies have shown that the water was already stagnant in this place at the time the drawing was made, so this is a deliberate effect on the part of the artist.

The cave owes its name to the 16th century coins that were found at the bottom of a 23-metre deep well. Numerous boot prints have also been found, and legend has it that the coins came from the treasure of the mysterious owner of the boots, although there is no proof that the two clues date from the same period..

The Las Monedas cave was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2008.