Ice Age engravings found in a heavily visited Catalan cave

Overview

Updated 1 hour ago

Visitors walked past the engraved walls of Cova de la Font Major for decades, some carving names over Ice Age marks. In 2019, archaeologist Josep Maria Vergès spotted them under raking light, and researchers now describe 280 Paleolithic motifs, including 55 animal figures.

The find is the third-largest Paleolithic art assemblage on the Mediterranean side of the Iberian Peninsula, the authors say. They argue the motifs show a local artistic tradition distinct from the Franco-Cantabrian region.

Why it matters

The find rewrites the map of Ice Age art in Spain and shows that a cave open to tourists for decades still held undiscovered engravings.

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Key Indicators

280

Paleolithic motifs identified

Engravings documented in Cova de la Font Major.

Animal figures among the motifs

Includes horse, bear, aurochs and hind.

3.5

Cave passageways mapped

The cave system has more than 3.5 kilometres of underground passages.

~26,000

Approximate age of engravings

Nature reports the engravings date back around 26,000 years.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

People Involved

Josep Maria Vergès Bosch

Archaeologist at IPHES-CERCA

Co-author of the 2026 Antiquity study

Míriam Salas-Altès

Archaeologist and Ph.D. student at IPHES-CERCA

Co-author of the 2026 Antiquity study

Paul Taçon

Archaeologist at Griffith University

Independent expert commenting on the find

Organizations Involved

Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES-CERCA)

Research institute

Led the research

Research institute in Tarragona, Spain, focused on human paleoecology and social evolution.

Cova de la Font Major

Cave and museum

Site of the engravings

A cave system in Espluga de Francolí, Catalonia, with more than 3.5 kilometres of passages and a long history of public visits.

Antiquity

Peer-Reviewed Journal

Published the peer-reviewed study

A journal published by Cambridge University Press that covers archaeology.

Timeline

1957 November 2026

5 events Latest: 3 days ago

Tap a bar to jump to that date

November 2026
Nature reports the discovery
Latest Publication

Nature's news story brings the find to a wider audience.
3 days ago
Study published in Antiquity
Publication

Researchers describe 280 Paleolithic motifs, including 55 animal figures.
4 days ago
2019
Engravings spotted among graffiti
Discovery

Josep Maria Vergès noticed ancient lines and a horse in Paleolithic style.
2019
1993
Cave opens as tourist attraction
Tourism

The cave was converted into a tourist attraction.
1993
1957
Cave first excavated
Excavation

Archaeologists first excavated Cova de la Font Major.
1957

Scenarios

More engravings found in sealed galleries

Possible Resolves by End of 2028

Discussed by: Míriam Salas-Altès in Scientific American

Salas-Altès said some galleries are filled with sediment and opening them could reveal more rock art. If researchers excavate those galleries, the cave's count of motifs could rise.

Direct dating pins the art to a specific period

Uncertain Resolves by End of 2028

Discussed by: New Scientist, citing the research team

The team cannot directly date the engravings. Human occupation in the cave dates to between 26,000 and 41,000 years ago, and the art is stylistically likely to be over 19,000 years old. New dating methods could establish a firmer age.

Cave access tightened to protect the engravings

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: Scientific American

Tourist access has already been limited since the engravings were recognized. Further restrictions could follow as researchers study the site.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

1993-2019

Cova de la Font Major tourist era (1993-2019)

The cave was first excavated in 1957 and opened as a tourist attraction in 1993. For more than six decades, thousands of visitors passed the engraved surfaces, and some carved names and dates over them. The Paleolithic marks went unrecognized.

Then

The cave became a public attraction before its Ice Age art was identified.

Now

The case shows how heavy visitation can obscure, rather than erase, rock art.

Why this matters now

It explains how 280 motifs hid in plain sight until raking light revealed them.

2018

U-Th dating of Iberian cave art (2018)

A Science paper used uranium-thorium dating on carbonate crusts over paintings at La Pasiega, Maltravieso and Ardales. The results showed cave art in Iberia older than 64,800 years and suggested Neanderthal authorship.

Then

The study pushed back the earliest known cave art in the region.

Now

It showed that mineral crusts can provide minimum ages when organic material is absent.

Why this matters now

Cova de la Font Major's engravings are hard to date directly, so similar methods could clarify their age.