Cave paintings Ermita Vicari

Monuments

The cave paintings, from more than 5000 years ago, belong to the Neolithic period. It is located in the municipality of Altea, on the southern face of the Sierra de Bernía. The paintings are barely noticeable but you have to keep them for being a unique record in the area. That is why they are behind a protected fence. According to the information panels, what you see is a series of seven horizontal and parallel zig zag. Their meaning is unknown to us although it is believed that these figures could evoke the water and waves it causes when it is in motion. In the upper part there are three human figures of bitriangular body that raise their arms towards the head or towards the sky These anthropomorphs are associated with women, since in Neolithic art the female figures are always represented wearing skirts. Above them are arranged symmetrically, two sun-shaped motifs and, on the sides, sets of zigzags and dots. In the lower face two human figures are observed with the body constituted by a wide bar, the circular head and the arms resting on the waist. Its shape, lacking feminine attributes, could indicate that it is men. Next to them you can see several sets of geometric patterns such as bars and dots and, at the top, four sun-shaped figures. The existence of astral type motifs “suns” and the figurative representation of water (zigzags and points), lead us to think that this narration could be related to the observation of astronomical and meteorological phenomena