Autumn Equinox 2012

Petroglyphs in A Caeira, Pontevedra

 We took a short drive up into the hills overlooking the city in search of the closest mystical sight we could find. The seasons arrive bang on schedule in this part of the world, so the weekend arrived with heavy rains and winds. Despite the proximity, Malusa managed to fall asleep in the car on the way, but we could see the stones from the side of the road, so we had a look around in the drizzle, a little disappointed that there weren't many to see. But before we left, we noticed a map showing more up the side of the hill. Not wanting to leave baby alone for too long, Loreto put her inside her cagoule and carried her with her - asleep the whole time.

We were astonished by the shear number of clearly visible calvings, including the one shown here of two deer mirror-imaged one above the other.

What are these things? I'd like to suggest that they are the neolithic equivalent of road signs. They were probably highlighted with paint (a practice that the local council has now stopped to avoid deteriorating them, but also making them harder to spot), and in a form of heiroglyphics told the passing traveller what they could hope to find in the surrounding area. But the calvings are not only of animals - there's an abundance of sprirals that look to me like Cretan Mazes, which reminds me of my favourite mystical sight - Glastonbury Tor. Theoretically, there is a cretan maze pattern around the hill that gives you special powers if you follow it. Imagine a neolithic hunter-gatherer finding these petroglyphs and running their finger around the maze to connect with their ancestors and 'charge up' before heading out on the hunt.

As for our visit - we got very wet (except Malusa, who slept the whole time inside her mum's coat, umbrella over head), didn't find any deer to hunt, and didn't run our fingers around the mazes, but we still left feeling energized and inspired by the idea that there have been people living around here long before the historical record began.
Vic