It ‘s the 13th anniversary of La Cueva Pintada de Gáldar!
The museum center managed by the Ministry of Culture of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, declareda Historic-Artistic Monument since 1972, therefore programs a series of initiatives to value the consolidation of this heritage space in which for 20 years, numerous professionals linked to the areas of archaeology, conservation, architecture and museology, have been working on projects whose dimension has always intertwined research and conservation with dissemination. The archaeological site was opened to the public in 2006.
A treasure from the past
The pulse of the archaeological complex, its town with the Cave as its great jewel, is clearly perceived in the tide of visitors that this site managed by the Cabildo de Gran Canaria has received in its first decade of existence, more than half a million people, which demonstrates the growing interest that the insular past arouses, its importance as a ‘mirror’ for the inhabitants of the Island and its tourist attraction for visitors.
The great adventure, which ended with the opening on July 26, 2006 of the Cueva Pintada Museum and Archaeological Park, began by chance in 1873, when José Ramos Orihuela entered the chamber through a narrow opening where the ancestors of Gran Canaria had drawn a series of geometric paintings.
The road, however, was long and was not exempt from obstacles that put the integrity of the pintaderas at risk. The historians Celso Martín de Guzmán, who is especially remembered today, and Elías Serra Ráfols were fundamental in its rescue with an awareness campaign started in 1967 that translated in 1970 into works of protection and isolation from humidity.
The space was declared a Historic-Artistic Monument in 1972 and from 1987 the first excavation work began under the direction of the aforementioned Martín de Guzmán and Jorge Onrubia, professor of Prehistory at the University of Castilla-La Mancha, an initiative that revealed the presence under the surface of the town of Agáldar.
The successive surveys on the ground have made it possible for the visitor to contemplate the farmhouse that is distributed in a staggered manner from the bottom of the ravine to the current historic center of the city of Gáldar.
And today, thirteen years after its inauguration, the Cueva Pintada Museum and Archaeological Park continues to embark on its increasingly attractive and exciting journey through time.
