All about Eve in Benissa

COSTA BLANCA NORTH: Benissa has its own ‘Eve’.

Just a few centimetres tall, she is outlined in a Stone Age shelter in Pinos and was painted 6,000 years ago. She is depicted standing with her hands on her hips in what archaeologists believe is probably one of the first depictions of a female figure in the Valencia region.

The Pinos site contains some of the most important examples of prehistoric art in Alicante province.  It was included in the Mediterranean basin’s Rock Art that UNESCO designated World Heritage sites in 1998 and now more paintings have been found during restoration work at the site.

Some are geometric motives but there are human figures, too, and ‘Eva Pinera’ is clearly no longer alone. Drawn in the stylised outlines typical of Levante rock art, the discoveries show a larger person followed by four smaller figures. 

“They give the impression that they are hand-in-hand,” said Ruben Vidal, the archaeologist in charge of restoring the Pinos shelter.