Praileaitz Cave Hit By Archaeology Funding Crisis

Que tristeza y que bajeza moral nos da la “Cultura” foral.@ AMIGOS DE PRAILEAITZ

First, here's a 5-minute video clip, namely 'Inside Praileaitz' (no sound)...



Last year I ran a story on the recent research at Praileaitz Cave, located in the western Basque Country of northern Iberia, where archaeologists uncovered evidence suggesting that during the Magdalenian era, the cave had been used by an individual, thought to be a shaman, for ritualistic purposes. This was based on the recovered artefacts therein, and the apparent lack of any signs that the cave had been used as a living space at any time during the Palaeolithic. We now learn that funding for further exploration within the cave has been withheld; here is a roughly paraphrased version of the recent article in GARA...

The Cave of Praileaitz will no longer to be researched by specialists, at least not on anything like the scale that has been the case in recent years. For the past two seasons, the group of researchers, led by Archaeologist of Prehistory, Xabier Peñalver of Aranzadi, recieved two annual grants of 250,000 euros to conduct research and study within the cave. However, the Diputación of Gipuzkoa has now decided to suspend this funding, a situation that means further intensive archaeological research there can not now proceed.

The director of the Heritage Council of Gipuzkoa, Pilar Azurmendi told this newspaper that according to data provided by the publicly funded Department of Archaeology, recent research results from the cave have not been as successful as those from the initial stages of the investigations, saying...

"The 2006 results were very interesting but, recent discoveries from the rooms in the cave have revealed ochres and faunal remains not linked to human activity, which are quite common in these circumstances."

In her opinion, archaeologists who have worked on the site and analyzed the cave, have dug at a "very specific rather than a more generalized location, and have not found anything in a Magdalenian context - however, that's not our fault." Apparently Xabier Peñalver "knew this was just " and thus Azurmendi rejected a renewed grant on the grounds that several of the current research proposals were the same as those suggested in 2008.

Pilar Azurmendi also cited a tight budget, which allowed for 180,000 euros to be divided anually amongst archaeology projects of this nature, and that Praileaitz couldn't be given extra money, and should be treated as a site where research only takes place on an infrequent basis.

Speaking on behalf of Aranzadi, general secretary Juantxo Agirre sought to avoid controversy, and gave a somewhat guarded response, in which he declined to enter into a war of words regarding what the Council chose to fund. He added that Aranzadi had discovered a great deal about the cave, thanks to the support of Cultural Department of the Diputación of Gipuzkoa. He did however note that the work at the quarry made the situation more complex, and that furthemore there are many other caves that have not yet been investigated, and about which nothing is known.

There is apparently no detailed report available of the latest findings in the cave, although it is believed that important discoveries were made in the course of 2008.

This, as far as I can tell, is broadly the current state of play regarding Praileaitz, but without more detailed information of exactly what has been found most recently, it's difficult to give an entirely accurate description of the events unfolding there. (The linked articles provide a little more background.) Nevertheless, it will be hoped by many within the archaeological establishment and elsewhere, that further funding does become available, not only for further excavations to take place, but also to ensure that the cave is secured for the future. Bearing in mind the proximity of the vast quarry, both to Praileaitz I and Praileaitz II, it's clear that both caves are in a very delicate situation, and that any damage would have a detrimental effect which will not be able to be remedied.


For more images of the cave and its surroundings, please click this link at Aranzadi.

see also :: Terrae Antiquae : Gipuzkoa. Hallan En Una Cueva De Deba Vestigios Únicos En Europa De Rituales Del Paleolítico