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The Cueva de Ardales is a hugely important Palaeolithic site in the south of the Iberian Peninsula owing to its rich inventory of rock art. From 2011–2018, excavations were carried out in the cave for the first time ever by a Spanish-German research team. The excavation focused on the entrance area of the cave, where the largest assemblage of non-figurative red paintings in the cave is found. A series of 50 AMS dates from the excavations prove a long, albeit discontinuous, occupation history spanning from the Middle Palaeolithic to the Neolithic. The dating of the Middle Palaeolithic layers agrees with the U/Th dating of some red non-figurative paintings in the entrance area. In addition, a large assemblage of ochre lumps was discovered in the Middle Palaeolithic layers. Human visits of the cave in the Gravettian and Solutrean can be recognized, but evidence from the Aurignacian and Magdalenian cannot be confirmed with certainty. The quantity and nature of materials found during the excavations indicate that Cueva de Ardales was not a campsite, but was mainly visited to carry out non-domestic tasks, such as the production of rock art or the burial of the dead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution shows the application of terrestrial laser scanning in an integrative approach for the documentation and analyses of the Ardales Cave, southern Spain, which is in many respects an important geoarchaeological site. For the survey of the cave, a combination of the Riegl LMS Z420i laser scanner with a real-time kinematic global positioning system (RTK-GPS) from Topcon and further tachymetric measurements were used. The achieved three-dimensional (3D) model of the cave and the surrounding hill documents the current topography and dimensions of the cave. Additional geoarchaeological data were successfully integrated in a 3D geographical information system (GIS) database and high-resolution records of a structured-light scanner were combined with the 3D model of the cave. The 3D model is further used for the estimation of the ceiling thickness that reveals areas for additional entrances. Lighting simulations based on path tracing were conducted for the determination of areas that are reached by natural direct or indirect light. In this case, the weight and size of the instrument was a logistic constraint to reach certain areas and to achieve a complete model of the cave. Overall, the method is feasible for the documentation of this cave and the investigations based on the derived 3D models. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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