In C-Cluster, we cannot get enough of caves. This year, our excavation campaign in Ardales Cave (Málaga, Andalucia) was continued. For five weeks, we entered the dark and wet cave that lies on a hill next to the picturesque little village of Ardales with its cute little white houses to search for the smallest traces Palaeolithic men and women could have left there while painting and engraving horses and deers 16,000 to 20,000 years ago.
Last year, we had opened three square metres in Zone 5, an area where Palaeolithic humans left some red marks and spots on stalactites. We were hoping to find stone tools and possible colour residues, and were lucky because we also found some small animal bones and charcoal remains that were dated to more than 35,000 years. This year, we continued in this area and opened two new square metres to create a whole five-metre profile and get a better understanding of the sedimentation processes of the cave.
Our international team of 20 Spanish and German archaeologists from the University of Cadiz, University of Cologne and Neanderthal Museum worked well together and we are curious to process the results now.
View from Ardales Cave. Photo: Viviane Bolin |
Excavation in Zone 5 of Ardales Cave. Photo: Viviane Bolin |