Cave of Tito Bustillo

Tito Bustillo Cave is located in the town of Ribadesella/Ribeseya. Open in the Ardines massif, it is part of a karstic complex located next to the mouth of the Sella river, in which other caves such as La Lloseta or the Biesca cave stand out.

Discovered in 1968, it consists of a single 700-metre-long gallery, to which there are adjoining rooms. Its repertoire is organised into 11 groups (some of which are made up of several panels), with more than 100 engraved and painted representations that correspond to two phases, one Pre-Magdalenian (signs in red and few animal figures) and the other Magdalenian, with various zoomorphs and different techniques.

In the Tito Bustillo cave, the cave representations vary according to the different periods and are superimposed on each other, depending on the preferences of those who inhabited the cave between 22,000 and 10,000 BC. The horses and reindeer stand out, and thanks to the use of different pigments and the scraping of contours, they achieve an extraordinary and vivid sensation of polychromy. Mention should also be made of the Gallery of the Horses, the Vulva Chamber and the recently discovered Gallery of the Anthropomorphs.

The adjoining Ardines Cave (inhabited after Tito Bustillo) can also be visited. It has a large central room and can be visited all year round. The Tito Bustillo Cave Art Centre is also located nearby, an avant-garde building that offers a vision of Asturian prehistory as a whole, providing information and pieces of archaeological interest, particularly from the cave itself with unique recreations.