Cancho de Nuestra Señora de Villamesías

They are places of a special emanation of energies coming from the earth’s crust. In certain places they emerge in the form of special irradiations, circular columns of one meter that emerge from the earth towards the heavens. Modern science is studying these phenomena and many of them coincide with altars in religions around the world and throughout the ages.
Apparently, the ancients knew of the existence of these forces and used them in their rituals. Although little is known, Roman historians give some clues as to what took place in these places. Some experiments have shown that putrefaction bacteria do not proliferate in these environments, causing, for example, meat not to rot, but only to dry out, to mummify.
El Cancho de Nuestra Señora, the stone itself, has a pyramidal shape. The part that is visible measures approximately one and a half meters high, by almost half a meter at the base. It is certainly thought that, if the surroundings were cleaned up, a very complete sanctuary could appear.
Currently, the walls of the adjoining fences and the passage of the road prevent us from having an idea of the magnitude of the rock complex. In nearby rocks we can see shapes that sometimes seem unnatural to us.
In general, rock altars are divided into two types: offering altars and sacrificial altars. This differentiation is normally based on the size of the monument and the existence of basins or pools where the ritual sacrifice and the spilling of liquids would take place. Normally the entire infrastructure is carved into the stone. Sometimes the altar is a free-standing block, which has been carved elsewhere and moved to the presiding place of the temple.
In the nearby Sierra de Santa Cruz they are known by the dozens, the number of them is surprising for researchers and the curious. The summit, in addition to an Arab castle, is crowned with a large cave temple that is accessed by stairs carved into the rock. Practically the entire sierra is full of places where they built sacred enclosures, especially in San Juan el Alto. There, in a fortified enclosure, up to twelve are located in five hectares, something totally unusual.
There is a detail that makes us think a lot and provides precious information about the people of Villamesías; it is that there is a survival or connection with an ancient tradition and the current custom. A tradition that survives today and somehow refuses to disappear. We could think that here, if not genetics, then the local spirit has kept the information alive in the mind from generation to generation.
The name suggests a Christianization of the tradition, which was the norm of the Catholic Church with the rites of each place. By giving her the abvocation of the virgin, they established a connection with the forces of nature, expressed in the cancho and its powers on the one hand and the figure of the mother of God on the other. On the back there seems to be some engraving marks. There are also crosses in the surrounding area engraved in the rock.
Still when you pass by her side you should leave something as an offering, you can ask for something or simply give thanks for what you are or have. It is a place of joy and infinite desires for good fortune.