La Garma cave complex
Paleolithic cave complex with pristine floor and over 500 graphical units.
The La Garma cave complex, a system of caves on the southern slope of La Garma Hill in Cantabria, Spain, sits just north of Omoño in the municipality of Ribamontán al Monte. It is renowned for holding one of the most pristine Paleolithic floors ever found, which preserves over 4,000 fossils and more than 500 graphic units. The site forms part of the Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain World Heritage Site.
Ten archaeological sites dot the hill, which rises 185 meters above sea level: the Lower Gallery, La Garma A, B, C, and D, Cueva del Mar, El Truchiro, Peredo, Valladar, and the Castro de La Garma hillfort. Cueva del Mar, Peredo, and Valladar are not part of the cave system itself. Human activity at La Garma spans from 175,000 years ago through the Middle Ages.
As of 2016, the only entrance to the system is through La Garma A, located at 80 meters above sea level. Its deep stratigraphy includes layers from the Aurignacian, Gravettian, Solutrean, and Magdalenian periods, as well as the Mesolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Bronze Age, and Middle Ages.
La Garma B, at 70 meters above sea level, sits between La Garma A and the Lower Gallery. It contains Chalcolithic and Bronze Age layers and leads into the Intermediate Gallery, which holds Paleolithic cave paintings and deposits.
The Lower Gallery, at 59 meters above sea level and roughly 300 meters long, was discovered in November 1995. Its original entrance was sealed by a rockslide around 16,000 years ago, keeping the floor remarkably intact. This Magdalenian floor, covering over 500 square meters, is one of the best preserved Paleolithic floors ever found. Researchers divide it into nine zones, with most finds in Zones I, III, and IV. Thousands of animal bones, sea shells, and artifacts made of stone, antler, and bone have been recovered, along with three stone structures that suggest residential use. In a pre-Magdalenian context, 27 red hand stencils, red dots, and simple red animal paintings appear throughout the gallery. Middle Magdalenian paintings and remains of residential structures are near the entrance, and a vertical bison depiction in Zone IX was directly dated to roughly 16,512–17,238 BP.
La Garma C and D, situated above La Garma A, contain Chalcolithic burials.
El Truchiro Cave, at 39 meters above sea level, has Mesolithic and Chalcolithic layers.
Quick Facts
- Native Names
- Complejo kárstico del monte de La Garma
- Location
- Cantabria, Spain
- Condition
- excellent
- Public Access
- No
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The La Garma cave complex comprises ten archaeological sites around La Garma Hill, including the Lower Gallery, La Garma A, La Garma B, La Garma C, La Garma D, Cueva del Mar, El Truchiro, Peredo, Valladar, and a hillfort, Castro de La Garma. The Lower Gallery, discovered in November 1995, was sealed by a rockslide about 16,000 years ago, preserving its Magdalenian cave floor in a pristine manner. The floor covers more than 500 m² and contains thousands of animal bones, sea shells, lithic, antler, and bone artefacts, as well as three stone structures likely indicative of residential use. The cave system shows evidence of human use from 175,000 years ago through the Middle Ages.
Reader's Guide
The La Garma cave complex is significant for its exceptional preservation of a Paleolithic cave floor, offering rare insights into Magdalenian residential and ritual activities. The Lower Gallery's floor, sealed for about 16,000 years, contains over 4,000 fossils and more than 500 graphical units, including 109 signs, 92 animal figures, and 40 hand stencils. Notable finds include nine cave lion claws from a pelt, portable art such as a backward-facing ibex carved on a bovine rib spatula, and evidence of mortuary practices from the Chalcolithic through the Bronze Age, including five Visigothic youths with deliberately crushed skulls. The site's stratigraphy spans Aurignacian, Gravettian, Solutrean, Magdalenian, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Bronze Age, and Middle Ages layers, making it a key reference for understanding human occupation in northern Spain over tens of millennia.
Did You Know?
- The Lower Gallery was discovered in November 1995 and its original entrance was sealed by a rockslide about 16,000 years ago.
- Nine distal phalanxes from an adult Panthera spelaea (cave lion) were found in the Lower Gallery, likely the remains of a pelt.
- A late Mesolithic burial at El Truchiro Cave, dating to around 5560–5310 BC, contained an individual buried in an oak bark coffin.
More in World Heritage Sites in Spain 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced