Abrigo de Tortosilla: cave art in Ayora

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Multimedia Gallery

Get a glimpse of what life was like thousands of years ago through the cave art in Abrigo de Tortosilla.

Abrigo de Tortosilla in Ayora will take you back thousands and thousands of years in time.

Discovered by the Serrano brothers in the summer of 1911, the site is home to the first prehistoric cave paintings discovered in the Region of Valencia.

The realistic human and animal figures decorating the walls were initially thought to date to the Palaeolithic Age. However, over a century of studying cave art in the Region of Valencia has led to the definition of a separate prehistoric art tradition known as Levantine Rock Art (Arte Rupestre Levantino in Spanish), of which the paintings at Abrigo de Tortosilla belong.

In 1998, the scenes depicting hunting, honey collection, war, maternity and death were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Abrigo de Tortosilla can only be visited by guided tour (booked in advance) such as to best preserve these incredible paintings that provide a glimpse of what life was like thousands of years ago.