Over a hundred "exceptional" engravings from between three thousand and five thousand years ago were discovered inside a cave complex in Tarragona of Spain's northeastern region of Catalonia. Reportedly, the engravings were depicted on an eight-meter-long panel on a wall in the Cova de la Vila cave.
The Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES) said the engravings are "exceptional, both for their singularity and for their excellent state of conservation." Although the cave was first found in 1941, the engravings were only discovered in May 2021 by three cave explorers. Arranged in five horizontal lines, the engravings depict animals, star shapes, and geometric patterns, which IPHES specialist Ramon Vinas said "are not a random composition but have a symbolic meaning" for the Neolithic farming societies during the Copper Age.
The engravings constitute "one of the few representations of underground schematic art in the entire Mediterranean Arc," according to the regional government of Catalonia, which has declared the site a cultural asset of national interest. Access to the cave has been closed to protect the findings, as it is essential to maintain the atmospheric conditions. A study of the art has also been commissioned, and work has begun on a 3D model to show the site to the public via a virtual tour.
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