Puntos de Interés
Culture
Cueva de Coimbre
In the area around the town of Besnes, in Peñamellera Alta, there is a cave that provides evidence of prehistoric human habitation in the Cares Valley. It is the Cave of Coimbre or Cave of the Witches, which was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in 1985.
Perched on the east slope, overlooking the Besnes River, the entrance to the Coimbre Cave reveals a limestone cavern full of history and decorated with remarkable rock art. The history of these scientific discoveries dates back to 1971 when two youths from Alles went inside to explore. They discovered engravings and a trove of archaeological remains of a settlement from over 12,000 years ago. Since then, successive research teams have studied the site. The first were J. A. Moure Romanillo and G. Gil Álvarez, and during archaeological campaigns since 2008 more intensive work has been done.
Some of the most impressive remains in Coimbre are its cave paintings, that depict bison, deer, horses, female forms, and symbolic motifs. The main chamber hosts a monumental bison engraved in stone as the most emblematic graphic feature inside the cave. These artistic expressions date back to the periods of the Lower and Upper Magdalenian, approximately 19,000 to 14,500 years ago.
Certain areas of the cave are difficult to get into, but they also contain Palaeolithic cave paintings. These areas showcase more delicate, deeper drawings on limestone, with more simplified forms, probably because they are in smaller spaces with more difficult accessibility, and, in some cases, limited lighting.
In addition to its artistic treasures, the cave yields fragments of human and animal bones. Most of the animal remains that have been identified are goats, followed by deer, chamois, and other species such as horses, aurochs, and ibex. Flint tools for hunting and fishing, along with various carved items have also been found.
The Cave of Coimbre was especially important during the Upper Magdalenian, and was a key habitat in the central-eastern sector of the Cantabrian region. That is why it is crucial to study and preserve it.