Prehistoric Rock Art Trails

SANTIMAMIÑE CAVE

Google Maps:
43.345522, -2.637791

Type of site:
Cave and Visitor Centre

Place of location: Southern slopes of Monte Ereñozar
Village/Town: Barrio de Basondo
Municipality: Kortezubi (Bizkaia)
Region: Basque Country
State: Spain
Telephone: +34 944 651 657 / +34 944 651 660
Website: http://www.xn--santimamie-19a.com/
E-mail: santimamine@bizkaia.net

Natural Environment:

The Santimamiñe Cave is located near the Hermitage of San Mamés (Santimamiñe), on the south side of Monte Ereñozar, a conical hill with another hermitage, San Miguel, at its top. The hill is part of the limestone mountain range bounded on the east by the River Oka and the Ria of Guernica. It is therefore very close to the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve. Holm oak woodland surrounds the cave entrance.

Archaeological evidences in the site:

Santimamiñe Cave is one of the prehistoric caves on the Bay of Biscay. Other sites in the Basque Country are Ekain, Altxerri and Isturitz. The nearest caves with rock art to Santimamiñe are, in the east, Ekain and Altxerri in Gipuzkoa (32 and 45km away respectively) and in the west, Arenaza and Venta de la Perra in Bizkaia (42 and 67km away).

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Opening Times:

Open from Monday to Sunday

Booking and access:

Disabled access only to the Information Point and the Hermitage of San Mamés. Visits must be booked in advance on +34 944 651657 and +34 944 651660; by email: santimamine@bizkaia.net; or in person at the Information Point.

Nearby cultural destinations:

Town of Guernica

Nearby natural destinations:

Oma Forest, the forest painted by Agustín Ibarrola. Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve. Laida and Laga beaches.

Accommodations (Tourism Website):
https://turismo.euskadi.eus/es/localidades/kortezubi/aa30-12375/es/
Restaurants (Tourism Website):
https://turismo.euskadi.eus/es/localidades/kortezubi/aa30-12375/es/

Age of the artistic representations:

Magdalenian, 14,500 – 12,000 years ago (Upper Palaeolithic)

General description of the destination:

The paintings are found in three small panels in the main passage and a small side passage consisting of a corridor called the Antechamber and a final Chamber, which has most of the art. Above all, the Chamber has numerous figures of black bison accompanied by a horse. In general, they are not very large figures and not too carefully painted, but they are very characteristic of Magdalenian art in north Spain and the Pyrenees. Themes and techniques: In total, the cave has about 50 figures, painted with charcoal or engraved. The figures represent: 32 bison, 7 ibex, 6 horses, a bear, a stag and incomplete remains of other figure

History of the site:

The cave was discovered in 1916 by a group of local kids who were looking for adventures in the mountain. They returned to the cave with Mr. Jesús Guridi (a music composer who used to spend the summer in Cortezubi), who identified the paintings as Prehistoric rock art and communicated the discovery to the Monuments Commission of the Vizcaya province. After that, the cave was visited by Henri Breuil (who certified the interest of the rock art), Telesforo de Aranzadi, José Miguel de Barandiarán and Enrique Eguren who began the first archaeological study of the cave.

Museographic resources description:

At San Mamés Chapel, a sophisticated 3-D virtual replica allows the whole cave to be viewed, so that its formation and morphology can be understood and its Palaeolithic rock art, which can not be visited directly for conservation reasons, can be admired. The visit takes 1 hour 30 minutes. It begins at the Information Point, next to the San Mamés Hermitage. From there, visitors are accompanied by a guide to the cave entrance. Only the first 50 metres of the cave can be viewed for conservation reasons, and the rest of the cave is closed. The archaeological excavations, which were re-started a few years ago, can be viewed at the entrance to the cave.