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Description
The rock art site is located in the parish of Mazouco, in the municipality of Freixo de Espada à Cinta, and is considered extremely important because it was the first open-air Paleolithic rock art site to be discovered in Portugal and Europe, in 1981. The actual site is located on the right bank of the Albagueira stream and consists of a schist wall where the two rock art panels are found. The rock carvings, suspended vertically from the rock, depict three zoomorphic motifs, the clearest of which is that of a horse, while the other two are characterized by their imprecise outlines. The so-called "Horse of Mazouco" is 62 cm long and 37.5 cm high, having been engraved "in outline", which suggests some dynamics in the legs and some descriptive rigor, with a well-defined line and a well-succeeded example from a graphic point of view. It is considered one of the most beautiful images of outdoor rock art in the world, a fragment of time whose continuous thread is dictated by the mystery that surrounds it to this day. These rock figures located by the River Douro are set in a magnificent landscape, on a prehistoric site, similar to the representations found at Los Casares, in Guadalajara, and in the Nálon Valley, in Asturias. The site is still known today by the inhabitants of the region as "Carneira", and this open-air rock station was classified as a Property of Public Interest in 1983.