Cave of Altamira

Cave of Altamira

Immovable Culture Heritage

The Cave of Altamira, located in the Spanish region of Cantabria, contains some of the oldest wall art known to man, with some of the paintings dating as far back as the Upper Palaeolithic period over 36,000 years ago. Around 13,000 years ago a rock fall sealed the cave’s entrance, preserving its contents until a nearby tree fell and disturbed the fallen rocks. Discovered in 1868, the cave was investigated further by a local nobleman that, alongside the art, unearthed a number of animal bones and stone tools. Due to its isolation from external climactic influences, the cave’s wall art is particularly well preserved in comparison to other prehistoric art that has been discovered.

worldheritagelayer

mcim1

Site

284

15/05/2021

cm x cm x cm

current,43.37694125362271,-4.119761466718046;

Cave of Altamira

TEXT

cave

370

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1

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