We have received a visit from British archaeologist Paul Bahn at Ekainberri. We are sharing the interview we had with him on our blog.

– Your visit to Ekainberri has become an annual tradition. What route or journey is this stop at Ekainberri part of?

For two different companies (Andante Travels in the UK, and the Archaeological Institute of America in the USA) I lead a cave-art tour which begins in northern Spain and then continues along the French Pyrenées. The visit to the facsimile and museum of Ekainberri is an important feature of these tours.

– You discovered the first Ice Age cave art in the United Kingdom at Creswell Crags in 2003, and you also know many other world-renowned rock art sites. What do you value most about Ekain, why stopping in Ekain, too?

Not only is Ekain a really excellent facsimile, but it also has always adopted the invaluable system of only allowing one group at a time to enter. This is a remarkable contrast with other cave facsimiles where the large numbers of other visitors often greatly detract from the experience and the atmosphere. And from a personal point of view, I am always reminded of my visits to the original cave with my friend Jesus
Altuna.

– Your latest book, “Everyday Life in the Ice Age: A New Study of Our Ancestors”, was published in 2022 together with Elle Clifford. Are you currently immersed in any new research or project?

There are many. We have published a smaller version of that book for youngsters in English (“Living in the Ice Age”), French (“Vivre à l’Age de Glace”) and Spanish (“Vivir en la Edad de Hielo”); and a new one for youngsters on Ice Age art (“Making Art in the Ice Age”) which is also in French (“Les Artistes de l’Age de Glace”) and Spanish (“Hacer Arte en la Edad de Hielo”). Next year, our Publisher Archaeopress has asked us to update “Everyday Life in the Ice Age”, and we will not only do that, but will also produce versions of it in French and Spanish.

Currently we are finishing a smaller new book of the same kind on Ice Age burials. And my own major project for this year will be a new edition of my favourite book, “Images of the Ice Age”, published by Oxford University Press in 2016. This will be a major task, as 400 books and papers have been published in the last 10 years which will need to be mentioned and assessed!