Altamira Cave is a unique collection of rock paintings from the Upper Paleolithic era, since 1985 it has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Unlike other caves in Cantabria, known for their underground beauty, Altamira attracts primarily fans of archeology and art. A visit to this place is included in the compulsory cultural program of tourist routes, both independent and organized by agencies.
View of the Altamira cave and its paintings
Altamira is a series of double corridors and halls with a total length of 270 m, the main of them (the so-called Big Plafond) occupies an area of 100 m2... The vaults are almost completely covered with signs, handprints and drawings of wild animals: bison, horses, wild boars.
These murals are polychrome, using natural dyes: coal, ocher, manganese, hematite and mixtures of kaolin clays. It is believed that from 2 to 5 centuries passed between the first and the last creation.
All researchers and visitors to Altamira are struck by the clarity of lines and proportions; most of the drawings are made in a single stroke and reflect the movement of animals. There are practically no static images, many of them are three-dimensional due to their location on the convex sections of the cave. It is noticed that when a fire is lit or flickering light, the paintings begin to visually shift, in terms of the sense of volume they are not inferior to the paintings of the Impressionists.
Discovery and recognition
The history of the discovery, excavation, publication and acceptance by the scientific world of information about rock art is quite dramatic. The Altamira cave was discovered in 1879 by the owners of the land - Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola with her daughter, it was she who drew her father's attention to the drawings of bulls on the vaults.
Southwola was an amateur archaeologist who dated the find to the Stone Age and sought help from the scientific community for a more accurate identification. The only one who responded was the Madrid scientist Juan Vilanova y Pierre, who published the results of the research in 1880.
The tragedy of the situation was in the ideal condition and extraordinary beauty of the images. Altamira was the first of the caves found with preserved rock paintings, scientists were simply not ready to change the picture of their world and recognize the ability of ancient people to create such skillful paintings. At a prehistoric convention in Lisbon, Soutoulou was accused of covering the walls of a cave with fake custom-made drawings, and the forger's stigma remained with him until his death.
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Found in 1895, similar caves in France remained undeclared for a long time, only in 1902 repeated excavations in Altamira were able to prove the time of the creation of the paintings - the Upper Paleolithic, after which the Soutuola family was finally recognized as the discoverers of the art of this era. The authenticity of the images was confirmed by radiological studies, their estimated age is 16,500 years.
Option to visit Altamira Cave
Altamira is located in Spain: 5 km from Santillana del Mar, famous for its architecture in the Gothic style, and 30 km from Santadera, the administrative center of Cantabria. The easiest way to get there is in a rented car. Ordinary tourists are not allowed directly into the cave itself, the queue of visitors who have received a special permit is full for years to come.
But, by analogy with the famous Lascaux cave, in 2001 a museum was opened nearby with the most accurately recreated exposition of the Great Plafond and adjacent corridors. Photos and duplicates of murals from the Altamira cave are presented in museums in Munich and Japan, a voluminous diorama - in Madrid.
