077 Cueva de Rascavieja
Enaso 30T 451824 4796438 Alt. 350m Length 450m Depth 40m

Updated 6th May 2000; 16th September 2000; 21st January , 10th June, 27th October  15th November 2001; 8th June 2002; 21st May, 15th October, 8th, 26th November 2003; 21st November 2004; 23rd February 2005; 28th October 2007; 20th December 2008; 6th January 2011

Plotting the entrance on a modern, digital map (with the help of GPS) puts it at 350m altitude, 50m higher than the old maps.

The 4 x 4m, strongly draughting entrance at the base of a cliff leads to a steep slope down to a 30m wide passage. The route closes down at a couple of strongly draughting boulder chokes. The left hand side has been scaled. The draughting choke to the right has been excavated into a complicated section between moving boulders. At Easter 1998, the left hand boulder choke was pushed through to a small passage and more boulders. The survey needs drawing up.
Wolf Chamber is in this area: a climb over was aborted due to dodgy rock and a choke beyond the "wolf" skeleton has been dug to a chamber and an impossible choke. (6/8/03).

One male Stenasellus cf. virei Dollfus was collected in 1964 and 1 Greater Horseshoe bat recorded in April 2003.

L. Mills found the Bronze age skeleton of a youth in the lowest part of the first chamber in 1975.  Both femurs were cut shortly before or after death. In 1999, small pieces of pottery were found in the same area.

Further human remains were located in the central part of the chamber by C.A.E.A.P. in December 1989. These were subsequently removed: 124 pieces which were probably all from one 12 - 14 year-old. The remains of two hearths were also noted in the centre of the first chamber and a wall deposit seen in the entrance. The S.E.S.S. found pottery fragments, which they considered Iron Age, but which a revision might now class as medieval. A plan of the distribution of human bones recovered in 1999 is found here and full details of all the finds are to be found in Ruiz Cobo Jesús and Smith Peter et al, 2001. The age of the Bronze Age burial is given as 3999±59BP (radiocarbon years), approximately 2500BC (date calibrated years) (Smith P, Corrin J & Ruiz Cobo J, 2008).

A tooth from a Giant European Cave Hyena (Crocuta spelaea) has been found. (Smith P, Corrin J & Ruiz Cobo J, 2008, p189).

Photographs of some of the archaeological finds are pictured here.

According to Quin (BU pp59-62), in his magnetic susceptibility studies, sediments from Rascavieja show similar k values to sediments in Cueva de Coberruyo (138), indicating that the sites may have had a common morphogenic agent and are connected.

The main passage was resurveyed (6/8/03) but this has yet to be integrated with previous surveys in the end choke, etc.

Ruiz Cobo Jesús and Smith Peter, 2003 has a useful summary of the archaeology, with photos and diagrams.

References: Fernández Gutiérrez et al, 1966 (survey); anon., 1975a; anon., 1975b (logbook); Kendal Caving Club and Manchester University Speleological Society, 1975 (survey); anon., 1977b (logbook); Mills L D J and Waltham A C, 1981 (survey); Smith P, 1981a; Corrin J S and Smith P, 1981; Manchester University Speleological Society, 1982 (survey); anon., 1984 (logbook); anon., 1985a (Easter logbook); material in file; Smith P, 1985; anon., 1987 (logbook); Corrin J and Knights S, 1988; Ortiz E, 1968; anon., 1992b (logbook); Corrin J and Quin A, 1992; Quin A, 1993b (survey and photo); Muñoz E and Bermejo A, 1987; Quin Andrew, 1995 (survey); anon., 1998a (Easter logbook); Corrin Juan, 1999; anon., 1999c (logbook); Corrin Juan, 2000; anon., 2001b (Whit logbook); Ruiz Cobo Jesús and Smith Peter et al, 2001 (includes photos and line drawings); anon., 2003b (Easter logbok); anon., 2003c (summer logbook); Ruiz Cobo Jesús and Smith Peter, 2003 (photos, survey); anon., 2005a (February logbook); Corrin Juan and Smith Peter, 2007; Smith P, Corrin J & Ruiz Cobo J, 2008; Ruiz Cobo Jesús et al, 2008 (survey)
Entrance picture : distant  close up  looking out
Underground picture(s): bouldery passage 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12
Digital photos by Peter Eagan. Click to enlarge.

entrance	entrance chamber
deep scratch
skeleton near end

Scanned slides by Frank Addis taken in 1984 (A1, A2) and Juan Corrin (B1, B2) in 1975. Click to enlarge.
A1: Looking out from the entrance.
A2: Looking across the first chamber from th entrance ramp.
B1, B2: Pete Smith scaling near the end of Rascavieja in 1975 (with Andy Finch and Linnet).

	1	2
A
B

Detailed Survey :  

1964	known cave	low res	high res
1975	known cave	low res	high res
1975 & 1985	known cave		1:1000
1999	archaeological dig		high res
1999	archaeological pointers in first chamber		high res

Line Survey :
On area survey : from 1975: low res  high res
Survex file :  download old survey (stations off plan and extensions to the NW added) combined survey lines
Passage direction rose diagram (Patrick Warren): yes