Spain's Remote Women's Cave Revealed as One of the World's Oldest Sacred Sites
Archaeologists confirm that the Cova de les Dones in Spain was used for ritual purposes for at least 24,000 years, making it possibly the oldest continuously sacred place on Earth.
The Cova de les Dones, perched high in a canyon southwest of Valencia, is emerging as a globally significant ritual landscape. Paintings dating back 24,000 years depict horses, deer, cattle and abstract symbols, while deliberately broken stalactites form circles, platforms and stairways of comparable age. Subsequent Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age activity is evidenced by ceramic chalices and other artifacts.
Roman-period excavations revealed over 120 inscriptions, many from women invoking a goddess of fertility, alongside bracelets, rings and spindle whorls. Local tradition called the cavern the Women’s Cave, and it continued to host consummated marriages into the 1900s. Co-director Dr Aitor Ruiz Redondo says the site's unparalleled time depth makes it a unique record of human religious practice.
Why it matters
The cave provides an unprecedented window into 24,000 years of continuous ritual activity, reshaping our understanding of ancient religious practices.
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