A study led by the University of South Florida has revealed new details about the colonization of the Spanish island of Mallorca.
Researchers first discovered the underwater bridge inside Genovesa Cave in 2000, study leader Dr. Bogdan Onak, a professor of geology at the University of South Florida, told Fox News Digital in an email.
At the time, the bridge was estimated to be 3,500 years old based on pottery found near its site, but new research suggests the ancient limestone bridge may be even older than that.
New research into an underwater limestone bridge in Mallorca, Spain, has revealed new details about how people lived in the area. (R. Landreth)
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The research team investigated the 25-foot submerged bridge and published their findings in the journal Communications Earth & Environment on August 30, 2024.
New research has found that the bridge was actually built around 6,000 years ago, suggesting that human life on Mallorca dates back further than previously thought.
“By extrapolating the date of the bridge's construction, our study suggests that humans likely arrived in Mallorca nearly 2,000 years earlier than previously thought,” Onak told Fox News Digital. “This discovery significantly narrows the gap between the colonization of the eastern Mediterranean (which began 13,000 years ago) and the western islands.”
Divers went underwater to retrieve mineral samples that helped them calculate updated estimates of the bridge's age — and it turns out it was built 2,000 years earlier than originally thought. (BP Onac)
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To date the bridge, the researchers examined “mineral overgrowths on existing stalactites near the bridge” and also “analyzed the height of color bands” found on top of the bridge.
To collect mineral samples, divers descended to a depth of approximately five metres below the surface.
“Both indicators suggest that these features formed when sea levels were still low. [and] “The bridge was built between 5,800 and 5,500 years ago, which means that the bridge must have been built before this time, but not after 5,600 years ago, because sea levels would have already risen above the bridge by that time,” Onak told Fox News Digital.
The fact that the stone bridge was underwater raises questions about its preservation.
Due to factors such as tourism in Mallorca, this ancient stone bridge may not be as well preserved as it is today if it had been above water level. (BP Onac)
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Being submerged actually helped preserve the stone bridge: if it had been above water, it would have interacted with the elements in ways that would have hindered its preservation.
“Submerging the stone bridge actually helped preserve it,” Onak said.
“Made of large limestone blocks, probably formed by the collapse of a cave, the bridge was protected by flooding. If it had been exposed, its fate could have been very different, especially with the impact of mass tourism in Mallorca,” Onak continued. “Fortunately, water does not damage limestone, so the bridge has been well preserved even when submerged.”
