La Rioja cave paintings. A journey to the first caves carved by man.

Rtune designed by the ADR South-Eastern Rioja e CARP Cultural Itinerary Holiday.

Throughout the ages, caves have been spaces of natural, defensive, economic, and religious value for humanity, as well as a highly sought-after habitat. Sometimes, in territories where geology does not offer natural caverns, it is humans themselves who create them. In La Rioja, sandstones are the most common rocks, which do not form caves when eroded by water, although, in return, they are easily hollowed out by the hand of man, and carving caves and shelters in thick sandstone banks, even if it is arduous work, is relatively simple.

The “La Rioja rupestre” route showcases humanity's ability to shape cavernous spaces and the various uses to which these subterranean spaces have been put, from the Bronze Age to more recent times. It's a short itinerary, ideal for a weekend trip and suitable for all ages, especially families with children.

Our Rioja rock art route begins in the town of Aguilar del Río Alhama, at the head of the picturesque valley of this river with Arab reminiscences, where we find an interesting museum dedicated to the site of Contrebia Leucade, a museum that serves as an ante-room to visiting the actual site. The so-called “Interpretation Centre”de Aguilar is home to a curious space that can be divided into two distinct parts: On one hand, on the ground floor, in addition to the reception, shop, toilets and workshop area, there is an important exhibition where we can admire various archaeological materials (originals and some replicas) from the excavations carried out at the site over more than 40 years. Some audiovisuals accompany a series of display cases hosting dozens of ceramics, loom weights and household items, various utensils and bronze and iron weapons, coins, mosaic fragments and models and reproductions that illustrate the evolution of this important Iron Age site (with a particular emphasis on the Celtiberian culture), the Romanisation and the subsequent Visigothic period.

Photo 2. View of one of the rooms at the Aguilar del Río Alhama Museum / Interpretation Centre. On the other hand, the first floor, where – surprisingly – we find a modern, very interactive and conceptual exhibition, really difficult to describe, but highly recommended for the whole family. This second area will transport us, through our senses, to the Contrebia Leucade from the Iron Age, when the Celtiberian culture was at its peak in this unique walled city.

On leaving Aguilar, in its district of Inestrillas, it is worth stopping to see two points of interest, the Church of the Nativity of Our Lady, a beautiful 16th-century building attached to the rock face where the original rock-hewn church was excavated (now preserved within the Baroque structure), and the original rock-hewn settlement that gave rise to the village, which includes a semi-rock-hewn medieval tower, and various rooms excavated from the rock (prison, council room, various spaces for agricultural and residential uses, etc.). This settlement, documented as early as the 14th century, appears to date from earlier periods (possibly after the abandonment of Contrebia Leucade, at the beginning of the High Middle Ages) and is currently being renovated.

A scant 3 km from Aguilar and Inestrillas, at the foot of the LR-284 road towards Cervera del Río Alhama, we find the formidable archaeological site of Contrebia Leucade . Upon arrival, we found a modest car park, a reception and public service building, and a large park with a picnic area, all next to the beautiful Alhama river. It is advisable to book our visit some time in advance.http://www.contrebialeucade.com/categoria/1/2 as there is no self-guided tour option and only guided visits by appointment are possible. Once at the site, the guided tour lasts between one and a half and two hours. Contrebia Leucade it is a vast human settlement that takes us back from the end of the Bronze Age, almost 3000 years ago, to its definitive abandonment, at the end of the Visigothic period, that is to say, in the first half of the 8th century, surely in relation to the Arab invasion and conquest of the Peninsula, in general, and of this region, more particularly.

During the visit, we will discover three main groups of remains: firstly, the Celtiberian and Roman gates and walls; then, the troglodytic city with its streets and dwellings, as we ascend the steep slope on which the settlement was built; and once we reach the upper part, the formidable defensive ditch excavated from the ground, along with its cyclopean wall, which seals off this imposing fortified city from the south. Separately, we find various rock-cut water channels and the artesian well that supplied the city, deep within a descending cave with stairs, all of it artisanally carved from rock. However, above all, in Contrebia Leucade we have found the first preserved wine presses that produced the first “Rioja wine”, nothing more and nothing less than over 2000 years ago!!!

With these visits, we will have finished the day and, if we have not foreseen it, we can select the accommodation and the restaurant that best suits our tastes among the vast offering of Eastern La Rioja.

Travelling along the LR123, which we will take in Cervera del Río Alhama, we head towards the municipalities of Arnedillo and Arnedo. Upon reaching Arnedo, we turn off onto the LR115 until we reach the district of Arnedillo de Santa Eulalia Somera, where we will visit the Cuevas del Ajedrezado and its unparalleled viewpoint over the Cidacos Valley. These caves, now accessible via a well-integrated system of wooden walkways, allow us to learn about the dwellings of the first Christian hermits (5th to 8th centuries) and their daily lives, as well as their small early Christian church which, most certainly, housed the relics of some of the first Hispanic martyrs, such as Saint Eulalia of Mérida and/or Saint Eulalia of Barcelona, both born at the end of the 3rd century AD.

Returning to Arnedo, we finally visited the rock complex of Cave of a Hundred Pillars, where this route ends. It is a formidable succession (horizontally and vertically) of singular underground cavities and spaces that allow us to take a journey back in time, visiting cave-houses from the 19th-20th centuries, dovecotes from all eras, large communal spaces, and habitat areas from the most probable rock-hewn convent that housed this site during the Early Middle Ages (8th to 10th centuries), water deposits, and finally, a rest area and services that includes a typical rock-hewn wine cellar dedicated to Rioja Oriental Wine Route And where shall we put the finishing touch to our route by savouring the magnificent wines of this rugged land.

Visit-worthy enclaves1. Aguilar del Río Alhama Interpretation Centre/Museum; 2. Contrebia Archaeological Site Leucade (Aguilar del Río Alhama); 3. Cuevas del Ajedrezado (Santa Eulalia Somera, Arnedillo); 4. Cueva de los Cien Pilares (Arnedo).

http://www.contrebialeucade.com/

http://www.arnedillo.org/

https://www.arnedo.com/vienes/conoceras/visitas-guiadas/cuevas_de_los_cien_pilares

 Essential proposalsIn Contrebia Leucade We admire man's great capacity to sculpt rock, creating moats, channels, wine presses, food storage structures, wells for collecting and conserving water, and of course, dwellings. In the Cuevas del Ajedrezado (Checkered Caves), we discover the religious uses of the spaces excavated by hermits and ascetics of early Christianity, in Late Antique Spain. Finally, in the Cueva de los Cien Pilares (Cave of a Hundred Pillars), we will explore a formidable medieval rock-hewn space overlooking the current city of Arnedo on a surprising journey back in time.

Eating and sleeping: https://rutadelvinoriojaoriental.com/ y  https://lariojaturismo.com/