The La Pileta Cave, within the municipal limits of Benaoján in the heart of the Ronda Mountains and thus in a setting of great beauty, was discovered in 1905 and declared a National Monument of Cave Art in 1924.

The discovery of this cavern came about, as nearly always happens in such cases, by accident. The tenant farmer José Bullón was looking for “muercielaguina” (bat guano that in years past was used in some places to improve cropland) in a fissure and, led on by curiosity, went as far inside as possible until he found ceramic vessels, strange signs and human remains. At the time it was known as the Los Murciélagos (The Bats) Cave, although nobody had ventured into it before José Bullón did so, and it was he who named it the Los Letreros (The Signs) Cave. This name was finally changed to La Pileta (The Trough) in reference to a Roman trough that was next to the entrance of the cave and that collected water that seeped from the mountain.

This discovery came to the attention of the British ornithologist W. Verner who, after several failed attempts and once he was equipped with the necessary materials, was able to enter La Pileta in 1910. Beginning at that time and thanks to articles published in the press by Verter, a number of researchers took an interest in the find. Once its extraordinary importance was recognised the La Pileta Cave was designated as a National Monument on 25 April 1924.

The cave runs for two kilometres, along which are distributed various galleries at different levels. Some of these cover a very large area and reach a height of 15 metres. Experts agree that La Pileta houses the most important Upper Palaeolithic paintings—approximately 20,000 years old—in the southern Iberian Peninsula. Most of these show animals, especially goats, but there are also deer, buffalo, horses, bison and fish. Among the most striking paintings are the “pregnant mare” and the “big fish”, the latter figure being 1.5 metres long. As well as the paintings there are a large quantity of signs that researchers are attempting to decipher, as without a doubt they are yet-unknown expressions used by prehistoric man.

It is the opinion of Professor Sanchidrán, of the University of Córdoba, that it will be possible to interpret these signs when, as happened in the case of the hieroglyphics, the “Rosetta Stone” is found that will make it possible to decipher the messages. Counting paintings and signs there are more than a thousand motifs shown on the walls of La Pileta, to which should be added the ceramics that have been found and the human remains, which show that the cave was also a burial place.