Archaeological site · Henarejos
Abrigo del Tío Modesto
Abrigo del Tío Modesto is a rodeno, red sandstone, rock shelter with paintings within Henarejos, among pine forests in Serranía Baja (lower Serranía). A single panel brings together at least three superimposed prehistoric phases: the best known is red Levantine art, with a wounded, rearing deer, hunters and other animals; beneath are older, darker schematic figures.
- Municipality
- Henarejos
- Rock art
- Levantine art
- Henarejos
- Rodeno
- Prehistory
Three periods on one wall
In the rodenales, red sandstone country, of Henarejos, a red sandstone wall sheltered paintings from at least three phases of prehistory, one above another. The oldest are schematic and dark: straight and curved lines read as male and female human figures. Above, in vivid red, is the Levantine scene for which the shelter is known: a wounded, rearing deer, hunters and other animals. An archer from this shelter illustrates Levantine art in University of Castilla-La Mancha studies on these paintings’ chronology.
It belongs to the same world as the Villar del Humo shelters, across Sierra de las Cuerdas.
Plan your visit
Before you travel
There is a signposted route from the village. Do not touch or wet the paintings: water and rubbing erase them. Locations of other shelters in the area are unpublished precisely to protect them.
Combine with
Abrigo de los Oculados, in the same municipality, and Peña del Escrito in Villar del Humo.
Frequently asked questions
What can be seen on the panel?
A wounded, rearing deer, hunters and other animals in vivid red, in Levantine style, over older, darker schematic figures, including lines interpreted as human figures.
Why is it important?
Because different styles and periods overlap on one panel, an uncommon feature helping establish the chronology of inland prehistoric art.
Carry on from here
Lands and landscapes
From here, follow the memory of the land
These readings connect Abrigo del Tío Modesto with the stories, the work and the villages around it.
This place through time
Which eras you can read here
A single place can keep traces of several periods. These layers connect what you see with the atlas's stories.
Where it is
Where the data on this page come from
- Name
- «Pinturas rupestres del Abrigo del Tío Modesto» source consulted
- Municipality (INE code)
- «Pinturas rupestres del Abrigo del Tío Modesto» source consulted
«Source consulted»: the primary source has been read. «Reference located»: the source has been identified but not yet read. «Open question»: the figure needs confirmation.