Siega Verde Rock Art
Grabados Rupestres de Siega Verde · Siega Verde Petroglyphs · Águeda River Engravings
Gravettian to Magdalenian ~20–11 ka BP·Upper Paleolithic Iberian·🇪🇸 Castile and León, Salamanca, Spain
About
About Siega Verde Rock Art
Open-air Gravettian–Magdalenian engraved terraces along 2 km of Águeda River schist, paired WHS with Côa Valley. Over 443 motifs — aurochs, horses, ibex, bison, pike and rhinoceros — pecked and abraded into immovable panels, dated 20,000–11,000 BP. Discovery 1988 proved open-air Paleolithic art survived glaciations, overturning cave-only dogma. Grids, vulva symbols and Phi-like zoomorphs show Magdalenian geometry.
Why it mattersLargest open-air Paleolithic petroglyph zone in Europe together with Côa; proved plein-air preservation.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Why schist terrace chosen when granite available
- 02Fish and pike motif link to river seasonality
Theories
- 01River crossing aggregation art
- 02Magdalenian open-air counterpart to cave sanctuaries
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.20,000–11,000 BP
- Period
- Gravettian to Magdalenian ~20–11 ka BP
- Culture
- Upper Paleolithic Iberian
- Builders
- Gravettian–Magdalenian hunter-gatherers
- Purpose
- Open-air aggregation engravings along river corridor
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
c.20,000–11,000 BP
Initial construction
c. 1579 CE
Major expansion
On the ground
Structures & features
40.6969° N · 6.6447° W · 640 m · 2 mapped features
Panel 74 – Aurochs
petroglyph panelPecked aurochs with infilled body
40.6970° N · 6.6445° WPanel 12 – Horses
petroglyph panelHorse pair with fine-line manes
40.6965° N · 6.6450° W