Cueva de El Conejar

Useful Information

Location:	Calle Beethoven, Sur, 10003 Cáceres. (39.4551183, -6.3635404)
Open:	Only after prior reservation. [2023]
Fee:	free. [2023]
Classification:	Karst cave El Calerizo
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:	E. Cerrillo Cuenca (1999): La Cueva de El Conejar (Cáceres): avance al estudio de las primeras sociedades productoras en la penillanura cacereña Zephyrus, 52, 1999, pp. 107-128. A. Canals Salomó (2007): El equipo de Investigación Primeros Pobladores de Extremadura. Intervenciones Arqueológicas en Cáceres, 2001-2006 In: Arqueología Urbana de Cáceres. Cáceres, 2007, pp. 43-56.
Address:	Cueva de El Conejar, Calle Beethoven, Sur, 10003 Cáceres. Fundación Atapuerca, Carretera de Logroño, 44 - 09198 Ibeas de Juarros (Burgos, Spain), Tel: +34-947-257-067. E-mail: Reservation: Tel: +34-947-421-000. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1916	archaeological remains discovered and subsequently excavated.

Description

Cueva de El Conejar (Conejar Cave) is an archaeological site, the cave was excavated by Professor Ismael del Pan from the El Brocense Institute. He discovered the site in 1916, at this time the cave was known as Cueva del Oso (Bear Cave). He published his results in 1917.

Between 2000 and 2020, the municipality supported excavations in the local caves, including the Conejar Cave. Eudald Carbonell, Antoni Canals and Kenneth Martínez, researchers from the Rovira i Virgili University and students from the Escuela Taller los Barruecos and the University of Extremadura made the excavations. They also organized open days, which were attended even by the Minister of Culture of the Government of Extremadura. The cave contained breccia attached to a wall with remains from the Upper Paleolithic to the Mesolithic. The uppermost part, some 8,000 years old, documents the transition from hunter-gatherers to farmers.

The El Conejar cave is located south of the city of Cáceres, in the suburb Vistahermosa, in a karst area known as El Calerizo. There is a public park named Plaza Manuel de Fall, the cave is in a section of this park. It is fenced off, so it is not possible to visit the site unguided. But the city tries to extend its cultural sights to offer more value to tourists, and so they planned to offer guided tours to this archaeological site. Currently, visits to this cave are organized by the Fundación Atapuerca (Atapuerca Foundation). It is necessary to make a reservation by email or phone.

The cave is quite small and has only a single chamber. The entrance is a collapse doline with a slope leading down to this chamber. It is not developed, but due to the excavations, there are walking trails which were created for the working archaeologists.