Museo y Parque Arqueológico Cueva Pintada de Gáldar

The Conservation Programme

Since the beginning of the first works carried out on the site, the main concern has always been how to preserve the paintings. For this reason, an extensive conservation programme was designed for the Painted Cave which included a study of the three elements that affect the paintings: the rock that they are painted on, the pigments and the various climatic elements that affect them, essentially temperature, humidity and ventilation.

In respect to the rock, it has been completely geologically and geochemically characterised, by analysing the internal structure of the excavated cave to see if there are any fissures, visible or concealed that could put the structural integrity of the caves in danger.

The tests carried out on the pigments and the mortars were also studied to identify the different components used, which were obtained from clays and calcium carbonates, both of which were heated before use. The analyses also showed that before painting the rock, a fine layer of clay was applied to it to prepare the surface. The colours which had been obtained from different minerals, mainly clays and calcium carbonates were then painted onto the rock.

The climatic control of the chamber is done using leading technology and which ultimately controls the conservation of the cave. The aim is to establish the optimum climate which assures a balanced atmosphere in the decorated cave.Within the conservation programme, the houses of the town are also included. They were extremely fragile and sensitive to the elements (rain, wind and insulation). The works that have taken place over the last ten years have been aimed at consolidating the walls of the houses as well as the mortars that hold together the stones and mortar, and therefore holding together the paintings that decorate them.

A large part of the materials collected through the course of the archaeological excavations have been restored even though the desertion and ruin of the houses did provoke weakening and deterioration in certain parts.