Another Year in Spain - February 2008 - part 3

 Life in Caves

     Cave bar in Rojales, province of Alicante

Ever since I started looking for a home in Spain I have had that secret fantasy I would like to live in a cave house. Any oblique expression of this fantasy fell on deaf ears. It didnt stop me going looking for them though and researching them – the history, why they were built and how. Nor is it surprising I suppose. that I have ended up in any area steeped in the history of cave dwelling.

Life in Caves - Cave chimneys

Las Casas Cueva in Puerto Lumbreras (just inside Murcia of course) and other Andalucian towns such as Baza, Orce, Huescar Guadix, Granada and other southern areas are the obvious places to build, buy, restore, turn into artisan places, hotels – whatever your imagination and purse can think of. Not surprising really when cave houses stay at a constant temperature all year round of 18-20 degrees C. withstand fire and earthquakes.

It was in Rojales in the province of Alicante that I first started visiting las cavas cueva for pleasure. The most interesting residential area there was on, and in, the hillside. Dozens of homes belonging to the older and poorer population of the town mostly facing west were staged above the little town but part of a whole. This was crowned at the top of the hill with a series of restored caves which had been turned into artisans' galleries or workshops, a great little bar, cafe and once a month an artisan's market. I was smitten.

So now we are in to modern-day troglodytes. A little bit of background first. You dont need me to tell you that cave houses have been around from the beginning of human occupation. The word that applies to many of the people who live in caves through the Mediterranean and Asia minor are known as troglodytes. Because of the permanency of cave houses they have also been our 'window' on to prehistoric lifestyle through the paintings depicted on the walls of caves. There are two such important prehistoric caves nearby in Velez Blanco. Firstly 'Los Letreros' contains the World Heritage designated cave paintings including the symbol of the

Inhabited cave houses in Puerto Lumbreras

Indalo seen all over Almeria as a totem to protect the individual from evil.. The Indalo is believed to be a ghost that could hold and carry a rainbow in his hands The other to the north of Velez Blanco is the Cueva del Gabar. This piece of information comes from the andalucia.com website:  

"It was not until 1911 that a retired British Colonel staying in Jimera de Libar discovered the true history of the Pileta caves. Col Willoughby Verner was staying in the area studying ornithology, when he heard about the Cueva de los Leteros. He immediately presumed that this was not the work of the Moors and set out to visit the cave. On entering the various chambers he immediately realised that this was prehistoric and set about recording the finds. His articles brought world attention within prehistory academia. Later visits by academics surveyed the system and the paintings in great detail. In addition they excavated the floor of the caves and found pottery and animal bones.

Being limestone, the cave system was originally an underground river. In dry periods stalactites formed, while in wetter periods the system flowed with torrents of water. This is why many of the cave sides have been worn smooth by the volume of water.

There are two schools of art in the caves. The first dates from Cro-Magnon man, approximately 25,000 years ago in the upper Palaeolithic period. The more common charcoal scratchings are attributed to the Levantene school and contain a number of ZigZags and stick men. Many of these are of archers hunting their prey. The actual paintings are attributed to the Cantabro-French culture and such pictures of a red horse's head, goats and the famous fish can be seen.

The caves are resolutely uncommercialised. There are no set times for the tours. The guide waits quietly until he feels that the visiting group is large enough (fifteen appears to be the minimum) and then he collects the entrance fees, locks the iron gate which guards the entrance (much enlarged since José's time) and, since the cave has no electric lighting, hands out foul-smelling paraffin lamps to a few visitors chosen at random. It is a little like being deputised by the sheriff when the James boys are known to be coming to town. Unlike many cave systems, the Pileta is also unusually warm, so dress accordingly. "

There are also two important caves forming part of UNESCO World Heritage Site along wiith the Alhambra Palace. 

However it is the Baza and Orce area which will be my next outing of discovery.

 "In prehistoric times the basin of Baza was filled by a huge blue lake where Mammoths and Rhinoceroses. This area has many remains & fossils which can be viewed at the museum nearby in Orce. "

Research would indicate that it was women's business to carve out a cave room. Another baby on the way?   Carve out another  caveroom. Feral pup outside "home"

For modern day would-be troglodytes there is very precise information of the internet about how to construct or renovate a cavehouse but  it seems the males have taken over this role!

An example from one such article:

The Advantages of Caves

Caves are ecologically-friendly houses. Arguably, they are the most ecologically-sensitive form of construction, and could be combined with an alternative energy system to become almost completely sustainable. They maintain a constant indoor temperature with natural earth insulation, which also keeps them quiet. They do not require large amounts of inputs in terms of bricks, concrete, mortar, metal, or wood, and do not demand costly synthetic or ecologically-questionable construction materials. In fact, earth caves must be able to "breathe" naturally to last.  Costs are therefore kept to a minimum, except for the expense of labor. Requirements for a completed house are limited to a natural floor finish such as terracotta tile or brick, a thin stucco-type wall and ceiling treatment (usually whitewashed; preferably a form of hydrated lime), mechanical systems, and fixtures. Earth caves can also be built to specification. Within certain limitations, one can have high or low ceilings, large or small rooms, curvilinear walls, domed or arched ceilings, alcoves, built-in furniture, and a catalog of sculptural room effects. In fact, building this kind of cave house is like sculpting your house from inside out--a most unique experience. No two cave houses are the same. Given enough land, you can also expand instantly and easily.

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So I will come back to this subject at a later date!

Links

http://www.escapeartist.com/OREQ11/Cave_Houses.html

http://www.mylosvelez.com/mylosvelez/mylosveleznews.php?story=9

http://www.andalucia.com/adventure/cuevadelapileta.htm