26 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Newly Discovered 200,000-Year-Old Rock Carvings in Marbella: Potentially Among Europe’s Oldest Cave Art

Marbella has just made an incredible discovery that could change everything we thought we knew about prehistoric Europe. Archaeologists working in the Las Chapas area have found a stone at the Coto Correa site, which is protected and has been recognized for its historical significance since the 1950s. This stone features carvings that might be over 200,000 years old! If this is confirmed, it would make these markings some of the oldest human-made art in Europe, predating Spain’s earliest known cave art by a staggering 100,000 years.

The Marbella cave, known as the Coto Correa site, is located in the Las Chapas area of Marbella, in the province of Málaga, Spain. This site has been recognized for its archaeological significance and is situated near the Mediterranean coast, making it an important location for understanding prehistoric human activity in the region.

The excitement kicked off during a recent archaeological survey at Coto Correa, where previous digs had already uncovered ancient stone tools used by Marbella’s earliest inhabitants. But this latest find takes things to a whole new level. The star of the show is a piece of gabbro, a dark, coarse rock, adorned with a series of engraved lines.

Experts believe these markings could represent one of the earliest forms of symbolic expression, possibly the oldest graphic representations ever found on the Iberian Peninsula.

If ongoing studies confirm the age of these engravings, they could completely reshape our understanding of when and how early humans began to express themselves artistically. While Spain is home to other significant prehistoric art sites, like the famous painted caves in Cantabria, the age of these Marbella carvings sets them apart and raises intriguing questions about the cognitive and creative abilities of early humans, including Neanderthals or their ancestors.

Detail of the engravings. Credit: Ayuntamiento de Marbella (Marbella Town Council)
Detail of the engravings. Credit: Ayuntamiento de Marbella (Marbella Town Council)

To determine the exact age of the carvings, researchers are employing advanced geoarchaeological techniques. They’re analyzing quartz in the surrounding sediments to create a clear timeline, while cutting-edge 3D digital mapping helps distinguish between natural wear, tool marks, and intentional engravings.

This digital documentation will not only assist scholars in verifying the origins of the markings but will also serve as a valuable resource for museums, allowing experts, students, and curious visitors to explore this remarkable find for years to come.

Local authorities have set aside €8,000 to support this vital research—a modest investment that could redefine not just Marbella’s history, but our broader understanding of human evolution and creativity. Once the results are in, the cultural department plans to share this scientific milestone through public events and exhibitions, ensuring that everyone can catch a glimpse of Marbella’s newly uncovered ancient past.

Could Marbella soon be known for more than just its luxury lifestyle? This potential breakthrough in Paleolithic research might just give the town a new kind of prestige—one that stretches back hundreds of thousands of years.

Marbella Town Council

Cover Image Credit: 200,000-year-old rock carvings found in Marbella. Some of the oldest known human-made carvings in Europe. Credit: Ayuntamiento de Marbella (Marbella Town Council)

Related Articles

Archaeologists in Derbyshire have unearthed a 9th century Anglo Saxon house

15 July 2021

15 July 2021

A nearly complete Anglo-Saxon house, considered to date from the early ninth century and might have been the abode of...

Archaeologists Discover Clay Figurines from Early Iron Age in Ukraine

17 December 2024

17 December 2024

Archaeologists have discovered clay figurines of young bulls from the Early Iron Age near the Metropolitan Chambers in the village...

Researchers decipher enigmatic ancient ‘Unknown Kushan Script’

13 July 2023

13 July 2023

A research team at the University of Cologne’s Department of Linguistics deciphered a writing system belonging to the Kushan Empire,...

Archaeologists Unearth Monumental Relief Depicting Assyrian King and Major Deities in Ancient Nineveh

15 May 2025

15 May 2025

A team of archaeologists from Heidelberg University has made an extraordinary discovery in the ancient city of Nineveh, near modern-day...

Key Silla Kingdom Palace Site Found in South Korea After Decade-Long Probe

11 February 2025

11 February 2025

A decade-long investigation conducted by the Korea Heritage Service has uncovered a crucial palace site of the Silla Kingdom (57...

Ancient Mesopotamians bred horse-like hybrids

17 January 2022

17 January 2022

New research finds that Mesopotamians were utilizing hybrids of domesticated donkeys and wild asses to drive their war wagons 4,300...

A prehistoric monument consisting of three round enclosures, one of which resembles a horseshoe, was discovered in France

7 April 2024

7 April 2024

Archaeologists from the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP) unearthed an unusual, prehistoric monument in the shape of...

1,300-year-old shipwreck found in southwest France

19 June 2022

19 June 2022

Archeologists in France have discovered the wreck of a ship that navigated the Garonne river in southwestern France in the...

Denmark King’s spice cabinet discovered on Gribshunden

13 February 2023

13 February 2023

The Gribshunden, a 15th-century Danish royal warship, was uncovered to have been loaded with botanical materials, including the first archaeological...

8000 years old fingerprint and ceramic production workshop found in İzmir Ulucak Mound

22 August 2022

22 August 2022

It was understood that the structure unearthed during the ongoing excavations in the 8850-year-old Ulucak Mound (Ulucak Höyük), the oldest...

In the backstage of Smyrna Ancient Theater Latrina found

3 November 2021

3 November 2021

Interesting finds unearthed during the excavations of the 2400-year-old Ancient City of Smyrna in the Aegean region of Turkey continue...

Archaeologists discovered a mausoleum dating back to Golden Horde era in Kazakhstan

8 July 2023

8 July 2023

Remains of a mausoleum dating back to the Golden Horde in the 15th century were discovered on the territory of...

In Moravia, archaeologists discover divine thrones, thousands of artifacts and a new settlement

13 August 2021

13 August 2021

During a four-year dig in the Moravian city (Czech Republic) of Perov, rare gems, mysterious burial places, and divine thrones...

Archaeologists discover a 4,000-year-old ancient city in the Iraqi Dhi Qar region

20 July 2021

20 July 2021

An astonishing find was made by archaeologists in Iraq‘s Dhi Qar province, where an ancient settlement estimated to be 4,000...

Ancient Celtic Bone Pen Found in Southern Germany

14 December 2024

14 December 2024

From August to October this year, the State Office for the Preservation of Monuments (LAD) in the Stuttgart Regional Council...