Researchers from a major American university have revealed a remarkable submerged discovery off the Spanish island of Mallorca. An ancient stone bridge, carved long before the rise of written records, rests inside a submerged cave system in the Mediterranean. The finding adds a crucial piece to the timeline of early human activity in this region and has been documented in the journal Communication Earth and Environment.
The excavation team uncovered a bridge extending more than six meters, a remarkable feat of prehistoric engineering. The structure, found in Genovis Cave, suggests that early communities recognized reliable underground water sources and devised built infrastructure to exploit them, enabling more stable settlements in challenging environments.
Mallorca ranks among the larger islands in the western Mediterranean, yet archaeological evidence shows that its long human occupation began more gradually than on neighboring coasts. The island’s full settlement history remained elusive for many years, with debates focusing on when people first arrived and how they adapted to the island’s geography and resources.
Initial assessments had proposed that human presence on Mallorca dated to roughly 9,000 years ago, a date that later investigations could not consistently support. Subsequent analyses, grounded in charcoal, ash, and skeletal remains recovered from various sites, pointed to a more cautious entry into the island’s past, with habitation traced to around 4,000 years ago in some areas. These early estimates reflected the evolving methods and available evidence during ongoing archaeological work.
Recent examination of mineral deposits and traces of pigment on the bridge has pushed the date of construction back by more than six millennia. The researchers estimate that the bridge was erected more than 6,000 years ago, placing it roughly two millennia earlier than earlier estimates. This discovery reframes assumptions about the pace and sophistication of early human settlement in the Western Mediterranean and shows that people in the region advanced basic engineering skills far earlier than once thought.
Archaeologists involved in the project emphasize that this breakthrough helps fill gaps in the broader picture of how Mediterranean communities organized space, used resources, and connected with underground water systems. The bridge stands as tangible evidence that early inhabitants planned for long-term occupancy and designed infrastructure to sustain their daily needs in a challenging coastal landscape.
In a related line of inquiry, researchers studying coastal wrecks near Mallorca have cataloged the remnants of a Roman-era ship. The wreck yielded approximately 300 amphorae, containers used to transport wine, oil, and other liquids, offering a glimpse into the maritime networks that brought goods, culture, and technological knowledge to the island during antiquity.