Cueva Pintada, Painted Cave, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands

 After visiting the cave complex Cenobio de Valeron or the Valeron Granary on Gran Canaria, we then went on to Cueva Pintada, or Painted Cave. The Cueva Pintada Museum and Archaeological Park is located at Galdar on the island of Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands, Spain. Its function is for the preservation and research of one of the most unique deposits of Gran Canaria.

Cueva Pintada, after which the deposit is named, was discovered in the mid 19th century. It is part of a group of artificial caves dug in the volcanic rock sinters. The Painted Cave has a wall of geometric motifs and is an unique representation of the Pre-Hispanic mural paintings.

It seemed a bit strange walking through a busy town and then along the pedestrianised streets to get to the archaeological park. The blue plaque on the ground marks the pilgrim's way, The Camino de Santiago, which stretches along 66 km in Gran Canaria -

As you enter the ticket hall and souvenir shop there is no indication of how extensive the site is.

Firstly you go downstairs and watch a film on the history of the people. Then there is a rather small museum, showing some of the archaeological findings that came from the deposit. These include Pre-Hispanic items along with others from late Mediaeval that were imported to the island, mostly from the Iberian Peninsula. Some of the exhibits are permanent, others are on temporary display.

You then go into a small theatre to watch another film on the history of the cave paintings. At the end the screen suddenly rises and you are looking down onto the large expanse of the archaeological park. This was a real surprise. The park is enclosed in glass windows and curtains and immediately surrounding it are houses of the modern day town. I found this quite incongruous.

A walkway goes down and around the hamlet of Cueva Pintada and you can get a closer look at the houses. Many houses have been excavated, as well as storage areas. The houses are in the shape of a cross whereas the stores are just simple rooms. Excavations in the volcanic rock sinters from 1987 to the present day have confirmed that Cueva Pintada used to be part of a village with over 50 houses and artificial caves dating back from the 6th to 16th centuries.  

The last surprise is the Painted Cave. We walked down to the platform seen in the above photo and the guide lets you in a locked door. Inside are a few steps down, enclosed by glass windows. Suddenly the lights go on in the painted cave and straight ahead are the paintings. As mentioned before, they are just geometric shapes. Unfortunately when they were first discovered, nothing was done to preserve them, so they are now quite faded. But now the conditions such as temperature and humidity etc, are strictly controlled. No photos are allowed of the paintings.

Again I found it quite surreal that this ancient site is in the middle of a modern town. 

The last part of the walkway takes you to some reconstructed houses -

Photo of the paintings as shown on the pamphlet -

See more on the Gran Canaria tourism website . This has more information and photos of the paintings.

Valeron Granary, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands

 Cenobio de Valeron at Santa Maria de Guia, on Gran Canaria, Canary Islands.

This cave complex is known as Cenobio de Valeron or the Valeron Granary. The man made caves are the largest pre-Hispanic collective granary built before Roman times and used by the island’s inhabitants until the conquest of the island at the end of the 15th century.

The site is also known as Valeron’s Monastery. The name monastery comes from the Roman belief that young noble women came here to live until they were married. It was only in the 20th century that an archaeologist realised the real use, as the cavities were similar to those in north Africa etc. The granary is one of Gran Canaria's most iconic archaeological sites.

The caves are located on a steep hill overlooking a steep ravine, and hidden from the sea it was an excellent natural fortress. View of the caves from the road, in the centre of the photo behind the tall rock , and looking back from the site -

Close up of other caves in the hill by the road -

From the ticket office steps lead up the hill and there are various notice boards and panels.

A cave showing items used by the people -

The caves were dug in the tuff using stone picks and wood tools. The cavities were excavated into the ground and along the walls of several galleries. The complex contains around 298 compartments with surfaces between 1-3 m2 and on 8 levels. They were used to store grain and foodstuffs. There are more than 350 storage places.

Looking  up at the main complex -

By the 20th century historians had discredited the idea that the caves were used as a monastery and suggested they were used as a communal grain store -

Steps up the cliff can still be seen - 

The cave walls are smooth so that no grain was wasted. The caves were shut with doors, probably made from wood. 

Surprisingly there were no pigeons roosting, the guide mentioned a high pitched hum (that we couldn’t hear) that is supposed to detract them.

The site was declared a Resource of Cultural Interest in 1978. 

See Caves of Valeron on Wikipedia.