Santimamiñe kobazuloa, Prehistoric cave entrance in Kortezubi, Spain.
Cueva de Santimamiñe is a cave system in Kortezubi containing paintings and layers of geological deposits from thousands of years of occupation. The walls display representations of large game animals, while the chamber structure reveals how stone formed over extended periods.
The paintings were created during the Magdalenian period around 13,000 years ago when hunter-gatherers lived in this region. Archaeological investigation revealed evidence of human occupation across different time periods, indicating the site was used repeatedly over millennia.
The site holds UNESCO World Heritage status as a record of how Paleolithic people expressed themselves through animal depictions on stone walls. These painted figures reveal what mattered to ancient communities living in this region thousands of years ago.
Access to the actual cave passages is restricted for conservation, but a visitor center nearby offers a three-dimensional digital tour of the interior spaces. It is worth checking in advance since visiting conditions can vary with the seasons.
Local children stumbled upon the cave while playing near the entrance, which sparked decades of archaeological research and study. This chance discovery revealed layers of human activity spanning multiple periods of prehistory.
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