The team led by Ignacio Martín Lerma and Didac Román discovered a cavity in Cieza that was intact and sealed for thousands of years
The team led by Ignacio Martín Lerma and Didac Román has discovered a cavity intact and sealed for thousands of years at the Cueva del Arco (Cieza) site, with Paleolithic cave paintings and tools documenting the transitional period between Neanderthals and modern humans.
It appeared under the Paleolithic sediments of Cavity D. “After conducting an initial exploration of the first tens of meters, we realized the magnitude of the find,” says Ignacio Martín Lerma of the impressive cave that was found after three years of waiting to to ascend the detached rocks at the access. It has vaults 20 meters high and at least 1200 meters long, which the GECA speleological group has already investigated. de Cieza, making it one of the 5 longest caves in the region.
A discovery of critical scientific importance that has made it possible, at first glance, to identify cave bear claws on a large number of walls that make this cavity “a great example of a home for these large mammals in southern Europe, something truly unique”. point to Román and Martín Lerma, who had warned that any discovery in the Cueva del Arco could be a revolution.
In addition, as described by the professor of External Geodynamics José María Calaforra, unusual minerals have been discovered in the preliminary study of the cave and some of them may be new to science. In addition to impressive speleothems such as “fistulous” up to three meters in length.
This critically important finding opens a window into prehistory, as it has been thousands, perhaps tens or hundreds of thousands of years since no hominid entered its interior, so the scientific possibilities, geological, paleontological and anthropological, presented are enormous .
In addition to the research team, the Vice-Chancellor for Studies of the University of Murcia, Sonia Madrid, was present at the official presentation at the Regional Film Library, highlighting the importance of supporting the institutions’ research: “The University of Murcia unconditionally supports its researchers, such as Martín Lerma, who generate knowledge through their work, feed the scientific space and connect to society through the essential piece of knowledge: dissemination».
Also present was the mayor of Cieza, Pascual Lucas, who drew attention to “the potential of the find to appreciate the natural, historical and heritage treasure of the Almadenes Canyon and the region of Murcia as a whole. Cieza is Neanderthal territory and not just the regional archeology will benefit from her study, but so will humanity as a whole.” And the Minister of the Presidency, Tourism, Culture and Sports, Marcos Ortuño, also influenced the “discovery” that “replaces the region of Murcia on the most up-to-date map of prehistory” and has pledged institutional support for the research.
Source: La Verdad
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