Los Márquez (Jerez de la Frontera, Cádiz)

“Los Márquez” cave is known by the Jerez Speleological Research Group (GIEX) since the 1970s. Since its discovery, this team has safeguarded the preservation of the enclave, as far as possible, since they are aware of the geological and archaeological potential that the cave contains. In this way, the good state of conservation that the cave presents, as well as the Paleolithic art that it contains, is largely due to the protection that this speleological group has exercised over it.

We must highlight two previous archaeological publications where the archaeological value of the Cueva de los Márquez is raised. Both publications are made by J.M. Santiago Vilches (member of the Jerez Speleological Research Group). This author presents precise information about the discovery of the cave of the Márquez, about the first visits that the cave undergoes and presents an iconographic inventory of the rock art, together with the planimetry and the location of the referenced motifs.

Within the framework of the archaeological investigations carried out within the Punctual Archaeological Activity developed by us, under the direction of Mª Ángeles Medina-Alcaide, currently in the Cerro de las Motillas, on May 19, 2019 several members of the Group of Speleological Investigations of Jerez (GIEX), specifically, Juan Manuel González, Antonio López, Sebastián Jiménez and José Antonio Jiménez, accompanied us and directed 4 archaeologists (Mª Ángeles Medina, Antonio J. Torres, Iñaki Intxaurbe and Sonia Cosano) to the Los Márquez cave. It was our intention to know the cavity, especially by references to the existence in it of remains of Paleolithic painting, inserted in the karst system of Las Motillas.

As specialists in the study of cavities with prehistoric art, the signatories of this document certify the Paleolithic authorship of the red paint motifs inventoried in the preceding work, as well as many other uncategorized remains in red coloration, along with other evidence of black paint. In total, we calculate that in the Los Márquez cave there may be around 40-50 differentiated graphic units.

Painting is the technique used to make Paleolithic art in this cave, mostly in red color based on hematite, although some black motifs executed in charcoal also stand out. The themes represented are mostly remains of formless paint in the form of reddish pigmentation spots, extremely common in other caves with Palaeolithic art and related to the intentional and / or fortuitous anthropization of the subterranean space by prehistoric groups. Likewise, there are various sets of punctuation and paired lines, preferably in red, analogous to those found in other cavities with Paleolithic art in the southern peninsula, especially in Navarro IV cave (Málaga), in La Pileta cave (Benaoján, Málaga ) and in the Nerja cave (Nerja, Málaga). Also, a sign made of two black lines stands out, one of them sinuous, forming an angular protrusion, identical to a cave writing located in the Navarro IV cavity in Malaga.

Regarding the chronology of the Paleolithic art ensemble of the Los Márquez cave, and pending a more specific radiometric analysis, we can point to a Solutrean chronology and even relative to the final phases of the Gravettian; based on chronostilistic parallels with other rock groups of Paleolithic art in the southern peninsula.

This cave is included in the new research project “PGI” led by Mª Ángeles Medina-Alcaide.