In Gran Canaria, there is a wide wealth cultural that comes from the ancient settlers who lived on the island, among which is the Cueva Pintada Museum and Archaeological Park located in the historic center of Gáldar.
If you are thinking of spending your holidays in Gran Canaria and you are interested in archeology, you should not miss the visit to Cueva Pintada (Painted Cave) to admire the artistic expression present on the walls of the place, from a distant past of the island culture.
What is Cueva Pintada?
La Cueva Pintada is an archaeological site belonging to the ancient aborigines who lived in Gran Canaria. In it is one of the most representative rock manifestations on the island, where you can see some murals formed by geometric shapes.
Although various hypotheses about the meaning of the paintings are handled, due to the distribution of the figures, it is believed that the ancient inhabitants of the area had developed a kind of calendar.
Also, it is thought that the cave was a sacred area where various rituals were practiced, which is why it is also known as “The Sistine Chapel” of the aborigines.
Historical discovery
It is believed that the discovery of the Cueva Pintada was around 1862 when some farmworkers accidentally found the site.
However, its discovery was made official in 1873, when an investigator named José Ramos Orihuela accessed the cave through a narrow opening in the ceiling.
Years later, some utensils, corpses, and other objects were also found that indicated that the cave had been inhabited by some native community. This motivated further investigation, the most prominent being that of the anthropologist René Verneau who, in 1887, made a detailed description of the mural.
How was the restoration of Cueva Pintada made?
During the 20th century, there was much criticism regarding the state of the Cueva Pintada in Gáldar, due to the fact that no action was taken to propose conservation plans for the archaeological site.
During the decade of the 70s, the cleaning and processes began to enable the visit of the Cueva Pintada Archaeological Park to the public.
But due to the limited information that was available on the maintenance of the paintings and the poor planning of the visits, their access was prohibited in 1982 to start a more exhaustive research and conservation project and prevent their deterioration.
Start of the project
The elaboration of the creation plan of the Cueva Pintada Museum and Archaeological Park during the eighties coincided with the interest in creating a new model of an open-air archaeological museum, influenced by the cultural changes that emerged at the end of the 20th century.
This made that, for 1986, the Cueva Pintada (Painted Cave) of Gran Canaria was included in the payroll of the National Plan of Archaeological Parks organized by the Ministry of Culture of Spain. And, for more than twenty years, a group of archaeologists, museologists, architects and conservation experts worked to preserve the cave paintings that are part of the island’s cultural history.
Reopening of the Cueva Pintada Museum
Thanks to the joint work done by professionals for more than two decades, the Cueva Pintada Museum reopened its doors to the public in July 2006. Before that, visitors could only appreciate the mural through reproductions exhibited in the Canary Museum located in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
Since that date, visitors and locals have been able to appreciate live cave paintings and contemplate the historical past that shaped the cultural identity of the Canarian people.
In addition, the tour includes the exhibition of the excavation carried out in the area and in which they discovered the houses that were part of an ancient society established a few years before the Spanish colonization.
Currently, the Cueva Pintada Museum and Archaeological Park is Historical Heritage and is attached to the Ministry of Culture and the Museums of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria. To find out more about this beautiful history and archeology project, we invite you to visit the museum’s official site.
SOURCE: https://www.holaislascanarias.com
¿Cuáles son los horarios de visita y precios?
Si te interesa contemplar las pinturas rupestres de Cueva Pintada y el estilo de vida de los antiguos aborígenes, te recomendamos realizar una visita a este increíble lugar. Actualmente, el museo ofrece la posibilidad de participar en visitas guiadas en cuatro idiomas y también la visita autónoma.
Según la web oficial, el horario de visita entre octubre y mayo es de martes a sábado de 10:00 a 18:00, mientras que los domingos y festivos es de 11:00 a 18:00. De junio a septiembre, el horario cambia de 10:30 a 19:30 entre martes y sábado, y de 11:00 a 19:00 los domingos y festivos. Los lunes permanece cerrado para su limpieza.
El precio de la entrada general es de 6 euros por persona. Si vas con un grupo de catorce o más personas, se reduce a 4 euros por persona. Los mayores de 65 años y estudiantes menores de 23 años pueden abonar un precio de 3 euros para acceder al museo. Los menores de edad, grupos escolares o personas en situación de desempleo cuentan con entrada gratuita.
En ocasiones, el Museo de la Cueva Pintada organiza actividades culturales de acceso gratuito para asistir a conciertos, club de relatos, talleres de artesanía o manualidades y proyecciones documentales relacionadas con la arqueología. Cada uno cuenta con un horario diferente, por lo que recomendamos consultar su agenda cultural.
Esperamos que esta información sobre la Cueva Pintada te haya interesado y puedas organizar una visita al museo. Recuerda que puedes alojarte en uno de nuestros hoteles en Gran Canaria y pasar unas vacaciones increíbles, mientras disfrutas de la arqueología de la isla. Para más información, contáctanos y responderemos a tus preguntas.
