The Modern Antiquarian. Ancient Sites, Stone Circles, Neolithic Monuments, Ancient Monuments, Prehistoric Sites, Megalithic Mysteries

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Cueva de la Pileta (Cave / Rock Shelter) — Fieldnotes

Visited 26 Sept 2012.

West of Ronda, marked on most road maps and easily located with a big sign from the road to a parking area with info boards.

A series of uneven and slippery-when-wet stone steps lead from the car park up to the cave entrance and ticket hut (which also serves drinks in season), where there is a covered waiting area. The entrance fee varies by total group size - 8 euros pp reducing to 7 if there are more than 15 people on a tour. The maximum tour size is 25.

By 4pm, a group of 20 or so had gathered and the entrance was unlocked so we could all move into a foyer area, where the guide lit and distributed battery lanterns for the visitors, and filled his paraffin lamp. I had a small head torch which came in handy, though your own torch is far from essential. The tour was mainly in Spanish with a few words of English added; one of the other visitors was leading a group of Scandinavian and German tourists, and he kindly translated a fair amount of info into multiple languages for everyone.

The tour lasts just over an hour, progressing through the cave system looking at the rock formations, explaining history and discovery, with fabulous cave paintings along the way. The end point is the painting of a huge fish .... then a faster walk back along the same route to the entrance.

There are lots of steps within the caves, so I would recommend to reasonably sure-footed visitors. On the way back, we crossed with the next tour starting .... which included family groups, one with children of around 2 and 5 years, and another with screaming baby in papoose .... the latter changed their minds and left .... it's really not a visit for little ones imo.

Please note - no photography past the entrance area, you will be asked to leave if you try to sneak a few shots. This may be to keep the light levels reasonably constant, but also repeated camera flashes would have ruined the ambience of the visit.

Cueva de la Pileta (Cave / Rock Shelter) — Images (click to view fullsize)

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Palaggiu (Alignement) — Fieldnotes

258 menhirs in 7 groups, in a glorious setting. It's about 1.3km from the road to the alignment, along a wide but rutted track with a reasonably sharp climb to start. We weren't entirely sure of the location and there was a fair bit of "are you sure ..." on the way, but so glad we trusted out instincts and spent a very pleasant couple of hours exploring the stones, chilling out under the magnificent oak tree, and trying to find the 3 carved stones we'd read about.

Palaggiu (Alignement) — Images

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Pila-Canale (Alignement) — Images

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Cauria Fontanaccia (Burial Chamber) — Fieldnotes

It's huge! Almost on the scale as Sa Coveccada
across the water in Sardinia. The sign specifies the capstone as 3.4m x 2.9m, and it's tall enough to stand up inside.

Renaju (Alignement) — Fieldnotes

A stunning spot! Dozens of menhirs in a copse, explored in dappled sunlight. A confusion of rows, some dating to around 5000 BCE. In a gated area, but with full access allowing witnessed stone hugging.

Stantari (Alignement) — Fieldnotes

Two rows of stones running N-S with some great examples of carved swords and faces.
Picture taken in May - the wild grass and flowers are lovely but do hide some of the carving.
Fenced in, but only a few metres away.

Renaju (Alignement) — Images

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Stantari (Alignement) — Images

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Cauria — Images

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Cauria — Fieldnotes

A site group consisting of the alignments of Stantari and Renaju, and the fabulous dolmen Cauria Fontanaccia. The location given is the beginning of the track to the group, and there is space to park here. Free and open access, no facilities.
Well worth spending a few hours here! It's about 500m from the track / car park to Stantari.

Filitosa (Complex) — Images

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Yorkshire based stone searcher and Cope music fan with intentions to be tidy and green, and with a fondness for baking.
Married to Beardy - at Castlerigg - and honeymooned round Perthshire, Aberdeenshire, and the Western Isles.
Recently taken to European excursions.

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