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Cova Cartanyà

Cova Cartanyà

Coneguda cova d'uns 212 m. de recorregut a la vall del Brugent (Conca de Barberà)

Vilaverd • Conca de Barberà212m24m

A cave of about 212 m of passage in the Brugent valley, in the Conca de Barberà, with three entrances, two levels and a major clastic collapse.

Characteristics

Location

On the TV-7044 road going from La Riba to the Pinetell, at the height of the Molí de la Font Gran and just below the Campament Juvenil, we find a prepared parking place.

On the right-hand side of the road there is a path that goes down to the Brugent river, at this point almost always dry; you must cross it and follow the path towards the cliff, soon we will find a junction, we will follow the path on the right, after about 200 metres, next to the path and on the left we will pass in front of the cova de Rodón, about 30 metres further on and on the right is the cova d'en Mata, the path continues and very soon we find a junction, where we see that the path on the right begins a steep descent; you must follow the one on the left which climbs gently until it ends just in front of what looks like a shaft, but which is in reality the collapsed roof of a hut; we will go down in front of the door of the hut and on reaching the flat ground below we will go a few metres to the left where we will find the second entrance of the cova Cartanyà.

Another access, which is usually more used than the previous one, is from the parking area before the refugi dels Masets, next to the football field; on this route you must go down to the Brugent river and cross the Toll dels Paperers, from here a small path starts off first heading NE and then continues heading NW; at a given point you must leave the path and follow to the right along a small path that leads us to the main entrance of the cova Cartanyà; this last stretch must be done climbing among the vegetation. This route is longer and with more elevation gain than the previous route described.

Mapa

Entrances

Always verify coordinates and access conditions before setting out.

  1. Boca Principal

    Elevation: 408 m

    41.317459, 1.161854
    UTM 31T (ETRS89) 346150 4575629
  2. Boca Oest

    Elevation: 408 m

    41.317451, 1.161749
    UTM 31T (ETRS89) 346141 4575628
Download all entrances as GPX

Photos

Cova Cartanyà - Photo, Vilaverd, Conca de BarberàView image
Click to enlarge

Espeleoindex · CC BY-NC 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ · Image © its author.

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Description

Morphology

The cave communicates with the outside through three entrances opened between the large blocks and is formed by two levels made up of chambers of regular dimensions, which are occupied over their entire extent by blocks from the major clastic process it has undergone.

Its genesis is due to a major clastic collapse caused by the displacement of the limestone mass of the area of the Penya Roja and adjacent reliefs.

Progression

Another access, which is usually more used than the previous one, is from the parking area before the refugi dels Masets, next to the football field; on this route you must go down to the Brugent river and cross the Toll dels Paperers, from here a small path starts off first heading NE and then continues heading NW; at a given point you must leave the path and follow to the right along a small path that leads us to the main entrance of the cova Cartanyà; this last stretch must be done climbing among the vegetation. This route is longer and with more elevation gain than the previous route described.

Other details

A well-known cave of about 212 m of passage in the Brugent valley (Conca de Barberà).

History

Known since remote times. The first exploration of which we have record is the one carried out by the Reus scholars Josep Iglésies and Joaquim Santasugsana in the year 1924. On this visit they were already able to observe remains of pottery and very soon the archaeological excavations directed by Dr. Salvador Vilaseca began.

Despite its relative speleological interest and its lack of showiness, it has been a cave that over the years has undergone a multitude of visits, which makes its state of conservation quite lamentable.

Among the different surveys carried out, the one made in the year 2004 by members of the Grup d'Espeleologia de Badalona stands out and which had remained unpublished until now, when it has been provided to us by our colleague Enric Porcel (August 2024)

Joan Pallisé (GIEM) provides us with the following note:

"...Apart from its archaeological importance, the cavity was the setting of an unusual and curious experience in the year 1969 by members of the speleology group of the Creu Roja de Tarragona, as it was a long test of underground permanence, supposedly without contact with the outside, which lasted for some days and whose protagonists were the speleologists of the Creu Roja de Tarragona, almost in parallel with those of Emilio Reyes, who in those years carried out various permanences in underground cavities such as the one carried out in la Cova de Chaves, near Barbastro, with the aim of analysing human behaviour in a situation of isolation.

In the deepest part of the cavity, there is almost no news of prehistoric finds, while it is worth noting the filth of graffiti left by a good handful of vandals with a long continuity of generations who have wanted to pass into posterity by making the main wall disgusting with lamentable inscriptions"

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Bibliography

  1. Borràs, J.; Miñarro,JM.; Talavera, F. (1978).-Catàleg Espeleològic de Catalunya. Vol. 2 (l'Alt Camp, la Conca de Barberà,el Baix Penedès i el Tarragonès):246 pp. Ed. Poliglota. Barcelona.
  2. Iglésies, Josep (1927).- “Catalogació de coves i avencs de la vall del riu Brugent”. Revista del Centre de Lectura de Reus (3ª època) (173): 212-226
  3. SES – Talps (1969)-. “Operació Serra de Prades”. Butlletí Talps (1): 1-12. SES – Centre Excursionista del Vallès. Sabadell
  4. SIRE – UEC (1971).- “Cova-avenc Cartanyà”. Senderos (152): 24-27. Unió Excursionista de Catalunya. Barcelona.
  5. Vilaseca, S. (1928).- “La cova de Cartanyà” Butlletí de l'Associació Catalana d'Antropologia, Etnologia i Prehistòria (4): 37-71


  • Actualització de dades, coordenades i fotografies facilitades per Juli Serrano i Montse Roca (SIE-CEA) i Francesc Rubinat (ERE-CEC). Juliol de 2024.
  • Topografia 2004 facilitada per Enric Porcel (GE Badalona) (agost 2024)


Source: Espeleoindex (espeleoindex.com), modified. CC BY-NC 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/