Archaeologists have made a stunning discovery of an ancient submerged stone bridge in Mallorca’s Genovesa Cave in Spain. This discovery, published in Communications Earth & Environment, could change our understanding of human history in the western Mediterranean.
The 25-foot-long bridge suggests human presence occurred much earlier than thought. Professor Bogdan Onac from the University of South Florida and his team found that the bridge is around 6,000 years old. This is surprising as earlier research suggested humans settled on Mallorca only 4,440 years ago.
By studying sea level changes and mineral deposits on the bridge, they determined the bridge’s construction date and pushed back the timeline. Although the bridge was initially found in 2000, an early study estimated its age to be around 3,500 years based on pottery found nearby. Another research proposed that humans could have settled in the region 9,000 years ago. However, these claims were not confirmed due to the absence of written records and limited archaeological evidence.
As per CNN, Professor Bogdan Onac said, “The presence of this submerged bridge and other artifacts indicates a sophisticated level of activity, implying that early settlers recognized the cave’s water resources and strategically built infrastructure to navigate it. It was only in four years that we gathered the data needed to address this longstanding research topic and better estimate the arrival time of humans in Mallorca.”
Reportedly, the bridge is made of large, heavy limestone blocks, but it is still unknown how ancient people constructed it. Researchers think the bridge was made to create a dry path to connect the cave’s entrance with a chamber located across a lake within the cave.
Bogdan Onac said, “This suggests that humans may have used the area near the cave entrance, a large collapse chamber, for living. The purpose of crossing the lake to access that chamber remains unclear; it could have served as a refuge, a place for rituals, or as a storage place, keeping food out of Mallorca’s hot days.”
Meanwhile, the Genovesa Cave located in Spain is underwater due to rising sea levels and Onac further believes the bridge was used 400 to 500 years before it was flooded by lake water.
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