Cave of the Bats

The Cueva de los Murciélagos de Zuheros is a prehistoric cave and heritage tourism resource of museum character, linked to the Ecomuseum or interpretation center located at the entrance to the cave, in Zuheros, province of Cordoba, Andalusia. It is located in the Natural Park of the Sierras Subbéticas, about 4 km from the town center and in the surroundings of the Cerro de los Murciélagos, with reference coordinates near 37.54043, -4.30601. It is not a conventional museum, but a visitable space that interprets an important archaeological and natural site. The cave was declared a Natural Monument of Andalusia in 2001, with mixed geological, biotic and ecocultural typology, and is also part of a protected enclave of high landscape and ecological value. Its heritage interest is based on the conservation of the cave as a habitat for bats and its extraordinary archaeological sequence. The site documents occupations from the Middle and Upper Paleolithic to the Neolithic, with continuity in later periods, and stands out for the Neolithic human remains and the manifestations of rock art. The sources consulted emphasize especially the prehistoric paintings and engravings, including representations of ibexes and graphic sets distributed in different panels of the cavity. The tourist visit only covers a part of the cave, while the topographical complex is much larger. The interpretative access through the ecomuseum allows to contextualize the geological formation, the history of human occupation and the heritage value of one of the most important caves in the province of Cordoba.