26 October, 2021

Coin cave

What a fantastic morning I spent with Juanlu and Isa, both on the journey and exploring the fabulous Cueva de la Moneda (en: Coin Cave), in the heart of Sierra Espuña, located 700 meters above sea level. To access its interior, it is necessary to rappel a vertical drop of 8 meters deep leading to one of the largest cave halls in the Region of Murcia, with 45 x 50 meters on each side and up to 27 meters high, which has large formations of great scientific, educational and touristic interest. Not only speleologists or geologists can delight in these beautiful speleothems, among which stand out stalagmitic casts of more than 10 meters long and about 12 meters high, but also people curious about history and the past will enjoy scrutinizing its secrets in search of graffiti dating from 1676 to more recent dates. At the south end of the cave, you will find a tiny narrow gallery 15 m long and 2.5 m wide.

Neither I, an archaeologist, nor my friends, who have guided me to the place, have detected, at least with the naked eye, signs of past occupations in its interior apart from the graffiti mentioned above. However, we can confirm the presence of an archaeological site on the outside, given the considerable amount of Argaric pottery scattered on the surface immediately after leaving the cavity and spread throughout the summit, known as Peñón de la Moneda.

Finally, and although we did not find it, there is a “dolmen” type monument in the surroundings.

AUTHOR: Carlos Velasco