Discover A Cave With Unprecedented Prehistoric Engravings in Febró (Baix Camp, Tarragona)

A team of explorers has uncovered a remarkable cave in northeastern Spain that contains over 100 prehistoric engravings depicting the pastoral life of the Copper Age. The cave, known as Cova de la Vila, was rediscovered in May 2021 after being lost for 80 years. The engravings, which date back to the Chalcolithic-Bronze age, are arranged on an eight-meter panel that shows animals, humans, stars and geometric shapes. The cave art is considered one of the most important examples of underground schematic art in the entire Mediterranean region.

The discovery was made by a group of speleologists who were conducting a topographical survey of the area. They managed to enter the cave through a small hole that led them to an oval room of more than 90 square meters. There, they were amazed to see a mural full of lines and figures on one of the walls. The first person to enter the cave, Julio Serrano, said he felt "a very great emotion" that he would never forget.

A researcher prepares to descend into Cova de la Vila in the village of Febró at Baix Camp, Tarragona, Spain. (Courtesy of IPHES – Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution)

Cova de la Vila was rediscovered in the village of Febró at Baix Camp, Tarragona, Spain, in May 2001. (Courtesy of IPHES – Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution)

Explorers examine wall engravings in Cova de la Vila, located in the village of Febró at Baix Camp, Tarragona, Spain. (Courtesy of IPHES – Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution)

The explorers contacted the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES), which sent two researchers to verify the authenticity of the engravings. They confirmed that the art was genuine and notified the department of culture. According to IPHES specialist Ramon Viñas, the panel of engravings is structured along five horizontal lines, each with its own meaning and symbolism. He said that the art represents "the worldview of the first farmer societies" during the neolithization process.

The engravings were made using a stone or wooden tool or directly with the fingers. They depict different animals, such as bovids and equines, as well as human figures and star shapes. The style is very homogeneous and indicates a symbolic meaning. The engravings are also in an excellent state of conservation, which makes them even more exceptional.

Wall engravings in Cova de la Vila the village of Febró at Baix Camp, Tarragona, Spain. (Courtesy of IPHES – Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution)

IPHES researchers Dr. Ramon Viñas and Dr. Josep Vallverdú visited Cova de la Vila to certify the authenticity of the engravings before notifying the department of culture. The engravings represent one of the most important sets of post-Paleolithic art in the Mediterranean arc and one of the few representations of underground schematic art in this area.

“This composition of the panel in the Sala dels Gravats is absolutely unusual, and is showing us a worldview on the part of the people of the territory during the neolithization process,” Viñas said. “It is not a random composition but quite the opposite; it clearly responds to a symbolic meaning.”

Detail of a wall engraving in Cova de la Vila in the village of Febró at Baix Camp, Tarragona, Spain. (Courtesy of IPHES – Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution)

Wall engravings representing pastoral life in the region inside Cova de la Vila in the village of Febró at Baix Camp, Tarragona, Spain. (Courtesy of IPHES – Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution)

The IPHES team is keeping the public posted on their progress on Twitter and Instagram.

For now, the conservation of the engravings is of the utmost concern since the surface of the cave walls is soft, moist, and vulnerable to atmospheric changes, including the current drought. To ensure its physical preservation, the cave has been closed by the Department of Culture, the Ajuntament de la Febró, and IPHES. They have also installed a series of probes to monitor the atmosphere, which will be checked during further trips to the site.

Explorers gaze at wall engravings in Cova de la Vila, located in the village of Febró at Baix Camp, Tarragona, Spain. (Courtesy of IPHES – Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution)

The entrance area outside Cova de la Vila in the village of Febró at Baix Camp, Tarragona, Spain. (Courtesy of IPHES – Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution)

A researcher rappels down into Cova de la Vila in the village of Febró at Baix Camp, Tarragona, Spain. (Courtesy of IPHES – Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution)

A researcher ducks into a lowered ceiling inside Cova de la Vila in the village of Febró at Baix Camp, Tarragona, Spain. (Courtesy of IPHES – Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution)

Wall engravings believed to have been carved using stone tools and wood, as well as by hand. (Courtesy of IPHES – Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution)

The area surrounding Cova de la Vila in the village of Febró at Baix Camp, Tarragona, Spain. (Courtesy of IPHES – Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution)

The discovery of Cova de la Vila marks "a historic milestone for prehistoric archaeology", according to IPHES. The cave had been explored by Salvador Vilaseca in the 1940s, but its location had been lost. The rediscovery of the cave and its engravings has opened a new window into the past and has revealed new insights into the culture and beliefs of the ancient inhabitants of Catalonia.

One of the few representations of underground schematic art in the entire Mediterranean Arc