Cova dels Rossegadors

Cova dels Rossegadors is a rock-art cave in the municipality of la Pobla de Benifassà, in the province of Castellón, part of the Comunitat Valenciana region in eastern Spain. Also known locally as Cueva del Polvorín, it sits inside the Tinença de Benifassà natural park, close to the Ulldecona reservoir. Visiting it combines a walk through a mountainous, wooded landscape with a direct encounter with prehistory, since the paintings on its walls have survived in the open rock shelter for thousands of years.

What will you find inside the cave?

The shelter itself is modest in size, roughly 29 metres long, 3 metres high and 1.6 metres deep, yet its walls hold more than 200 individual paintings. The scenes depict hunting episodes with human figures and archers, alongside imagery linked to animal domestication and gathering activities. Among the painted animals you can make out goats, deer, wild boars and birds. It's this density and variety of imagery in such a small space that makes the site stand out among rock-art shelters in the region.

Why is it part of a UNESCO World Heritage listing?

The paintings at Cova dels Rossegadors belong to the Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula, a serial UNESCO World Heritage property inscribed in 1998. That designation groups together dozens of prehistoric rock-art sites scattered across eastern Spain, and this cave is one of them, evidence of how widespread and artistically consistent these hunter-gatherer communities were across the region.

Is the cave accessible for visitors with visual impairments?

Yes. Access to the site has recently been adapted specifically for visually impaired visitors. The visit is supported by extra materials designed to make the experience tactile and understandable without relying on sight alone: three-dimensional reproductions of the paintings, magnetic silhouettes mounted on a wall, and replicas of the tools used by the people who once lived here, including bows, arrows and ceramic vessels.

How do you get to Cova dels Rossegadors?

The cave lies within the Tinença de Benifassà natural park, in the mountainous inland part of Castellón province near the border with Catalonia. It's an area popular with hikers and nature lovers, and the nearby Ulldecona reservoir adds views over water and forested slopes to the visit. Because this is an archaeological site, visits are typically organised as guided tours, which also helps put the paintings into their historical context.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do the paintings in Cova dels Rossegadors depict? Hunting scenes with human figures and archers, imagery related to domestication and gathering, and animals including goats, deer, wild boars and birds.

Is Cova dels Rossegadors part of a UNESCO World Heritage site? Yes, its paintings are part of the Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1998.

Is the cave adapted for visitors with visual impairments? Yes, the visit includes three-dimensional reproductions of the paintings, magnetic silhouettes and replicas of prehistoric tools.

Where exactly is the cave located? In the municipality of la Pobla de Benifassà, Castellón province, inside the Tinença de Benifassà natural park, near the Ulldecona reservoir.