Roca dels Moros

The Roca dels Moros or Caves of El Cogul is a rock shelter containing paintings of prehistoric Levantine rock art. The site is in El Cogul, in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain. Since 1998 the paintings have been protected as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Inscriptions in Northeastern Iberian script and in Latin alphabet indicate that the place was used as a sanctuary into Iberian and Roman times.Location, discoveryThe Caves of El Cogul are a rock shelter in El Cogul in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain. In 1908 paintings of prehistoric Levantine rock art were discovered by the village rector, Ramon Huguet, and a report was published in the same year. The first prehistorians to study the paintings, such as Henri Breuil and Juan Cabré, took the view that Levantine rock art belonged to the palaeolithic. There is now a consensus that the paintings are post-palaeolithic, although uncertainty persists as to their date. Since 1998 the paintings have been protected as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site (reference 874). Near the paintings is a cemetery with tombs carved into the rock. Inscriptions in Northeastern Iberian script and in Latin alphabet, one of which is an ex-voto, indicate that the caves use as a sanctuary extended to Iberian and Roman times.