Roque Bentayga

The Roque Bentayga is an extraordinarily wealthy archaeological site where, apart from the actual village, we can spot walls, burial grounds, caves featuring rock art, alphabetical inscriptions and the Bentayga almogarén or sanctuary.
Located at the epicentre of the Tejeda Basin, its immense bulk seems to organise this sacred space. Proof of this is the presence of the almogarén or sanctuary, an important place with astronomical connections that acts as a symbolic element and a backbone for the troglodyte representations that unfold throughout the Tejeda Basin. The design and location of the almogarén provides amazing natural alignment with Roque Nublo and indicates its astronomical use as an equinox marker. Shortly after daybreak during the equinox sunrise, a carved slot in a rocky promontory on the eastern edge of the site projects a shadow over a circular symbol around 70 cm in diameter, engraved in the platform floor.