Cova de Valldecerves

Known since time immemorial. In bulletin no. 14 (1894) of the Centre Excursionista de Catalunya mossèn Joan Segura (Santa Coloma de Queralt) publishes a brief note in which he reports that, together with his nephew, Mn. Esteve Puig, they have located a cave in the municipality of Miralles that is of archaeological interest and that is near Françola (Fransola in those times). In the following bulletin, no. 15 of the same year, he already publishes a longer article in which he gives more detail of the excavations and names the cova de Valldecerves (cave of Valldecerves) (Vall de Serbes).

G. Puig y Larraz, in his Cavernas y Simas de España (1896) reports the first note by Mn. Segura and catalogues the Cova de Fransola, ignoring the second. Font i Sagué, in his Catàlech (1897) repeats the data of Puig y Larraz, but also cites the Cova de Valldeserbes with no. 196 and merely says that it is near Esblada (Queralt) ?. Forever after the supposed Cova de Fransola has remained an enigma, although certainly, the Françola farmhouse is in the municipality of Santa Maria de Miralles, but far enough from Valldecerves and a little closer to the Cova de Mas Vilar, which some archaeologists confuse with that of Valldecerves.

Thus, after the work of Mn. Joan Segura and companions in September 1894, different excavation campaigns have followed one another at the cave, but it has passed practically unnoticed by speleologists. In 1986 it was surveyed by members of the GREV (Vilanova i la Geltrú) and in 2014 the data were updated by members of the EC de Gràcia and the GE Badalona.