Scientists found a mysterious millennial bridge from the past in Mallorca: how a discovery underwater rewrites history

An archaeology professor at the University of South Florida has discovered a 5600-year-old stone bridge in an ancient cave. This discovery proves that people settled the island of Mallorca much earlier than expected.

This is reported by interestingengineering.

The article emphasizes that this discovery turns all ideas about the early history of mankind in the Western Mediterranean upside down.

"This issue has long remained a mystery to archaeologists. It would be logical to assume that the first settlements appeared on Mallorca, as the island is located close to the mainland. However, smaller islands further out to sea have shown evidence of prehistoric people bypassing Mallorca. However, the recent discovery of an ancient bridge off the coast of Mallorca is the first solid piece of evidence in this historical puzzle, confirming that our ancient ancestors lived on this island, and this is evidence of their high level of development," the article says.

In 2000, a team of researchers dived into the ancient Genoese Cave, where, in addition to natural wonders and time imprints, they discovered a 25-meter bridge.

"The presence of this submerged bridge and other finds indicates a high level of development, suggesting that the first inhabitants were aware of the cave's water resources and deliberately built infrastructure to navigate it," said Bogdan Onak, a professor of geology at the University of South Florida and lead author of the recent study.

The paper noted that the stone path and wall lead to a bridge that once crossed an underwater lake.

"These structures were built without the use of mortar or cement: from large limestone blocks on which flat boulders up to 1.63 meters long were placed. This path led to a single dry chamber, which allowed researchers to determine the age of the bridge," the scientists continue.

In particular, pottery from the Naveform period (3550-3000 BC) helped scientists understand that the bridge existed before these artifacts appeared. Geologic formations in the cave and light streaks on the bridge, similar to a bathtub ring, allowed for an even more accurate determination of the bridge's age, making this discovery important for human history.

"Our research shows that sea level rise stopped and remained stable for several hundred years between 5964 and 5359 BC," said Prof. Onak, adding to the growing evidence of early human settlement on many Mediterranean islands.

The scientists also noted that people were active on the island about 6,000 years ago.

"However, the chronological constraints associated with the depth of the bridge, together with the similar depth at which the POS and color marks were found, support the idea that humans were present on the island as early as 5,600 years ago, and possibly even 6,000 years ago," Onak added.

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