La cueva negra Montanejos

About 800 meters from the village, on the road from Montanejos to Puebla de Arenoso, then you will see the start point on the left hand side of the road, after a brief tour up the mountain of 700 meters, a small upward path leads to the so-called Black Cave “CUEVA NEGRA”.

It is a large cavity and it is accessed through a mouth of 26 × 10 m. It houses a huge room with an area of 2,300m2 and a volume of 40,000 m3, making it one of the largest in the Valencia region.

It is a cave with great geological interest formed by large blocks that given their disposal, form pseudo galleries. These rock fragments are called clasts and are the product of the release process.

Topography:

  • 637 of altitude meters
  • 150 m. of real route
  • 100m. of ground route
  • 30m. of depth.

Traditional lore of the Black Cave

The Black Cave is, from the 30 cavities catalogued in Montanejos, the best known and the one which most stories are told. The lore of the area indicates that the cave has access to the nearby ravine of Maimona, in an area known as the Horse window. However this possible communication could not be demonstrated by an expert group of caving from Castellon, who has studied in detail the cavity and has not found any steps.

Archaeological remains

Caves in the area are often places of accumulation of paleontological remains as they have had various uses for prehistoric people.

The black colour that covers the roof of this cavity is due to soot fires, demonstrating the existence of human settlements in past times. In fact, it is still remembered in the population its use as a shelter and cattle guard, where hurdles were place to control animals there concentrated.

In the Cueva Negra (black cave) several excavations have been conducted, the most documented where those made in 1934 by Joan Josep Senent. The material detailed in the latter consists of:

  • Beds ashes from three ancient bonfires.
  • Chunks of sandstone that served to grind.
  • River stones used as hammers.
  • Silex flakes and leaves.
  • Pottery rests.

These remains were dated in the Neolithic period and, given the absence of animal bones in the cave, it is supposed to have been a place for temporary use. However, it is possible that there were also Palaeolithic settlements.