Archaeologists Discover a 5,000-Year-Old Tomb in Southern Spain

The stone structure, called a dolmen, offers a glimpse into prehistoric life, trade and religion

September 25, 2025

A collection of large stones in front of the sunset — This 5,000-year-old tomb could be one of the best preserved in Andalusia, researchers say. Inside the tomb lay rare objects such as amber, ivory and prehistoric weapons. University of Cádiz

Surrounded by stone and filled with treasures like seashells, amber and ivory, a newly discovered stone monument in southern Spain is one of the most completely preserved prehistoric funerary structures in Andalusia.

A team of archaeologists at the University of Cádiz discovered the more than 5,000-year-old structure, known as a dolmen, over a series of four excavations. Dolmens, constructed of stone walls and a large stone roof, were used as tombs and for burial rituals.

Eduardo Vijande Vila, the project’s co-director and an associate scholar of prehistory at the University of Cádiz, says in a statement that the dolmen offers opportunity for a more comprehensive historical understanding of this period.

“The true potential of this structure lies in its extraordinary state of preservation, which will allow us to gain a detailed understanding of the lifestyles and beliefs of these communities,” Vijande Vila says.

The dolmen is 43 feet long, and its walls are 6.6 feet high. On top of the roof is a tumulus, which is a manmade mound of sand and stones, Vijande Vila tells Live Science’s Owen Jarus.

In addition to amber, ivory and seashells, within the tombs of the dolmen lay arrowheads and prehistoric weapons. These items were grave goods, left at burial sites for the deceased to carry with them into the afterlife. The grave goods also provide a window into the trade habits of local communities, as objects like ivory and seashells are not native to inland Andalusia.

“These finds show that Late Prehistoric communities in the Iberian interior were far from isolated,” says University of Cádiz prehistory scholar Juan Jesús Cantillo to ArkeoNews. “They participated in extensive trade routes that linked coastal and inland areas, circulating goods, ideas and cultural values.”

Key takeaway: What is a dolmen?

These prehistoric stone structures, found across the globe, are a type of tomb.

A person kneels among stones and photographs something on the ground — Researchers are documenting all the contents of the dolmen. The structure contained several ossuaries, a type of tomb used for collective burials, in which multiple people were buried. University of Cádiz

Researchers have found a number of dolmens and burial sites across Western Europe that provide insight into prehistoric life and culture. Earlier this year, researchers found the largest known collection of beads in another tomb in Spain. Researchers told Live Science’s Kristina Killgrove that the excavation raised questions and answers about powerful prehistoric women.

Another well-known Spanish dolmen is the so-called “Spanish Stonehenge,” the Dolmen of Guadalperal, which sits in a reservoir in Spain and only emerges during severe drought. This dolmen’s megaliths served as more than just a burial ground, Angel Castaño told Local’s Fiona Govan last time the dolmen reemerged in 2022.

“They seemed to have a religious but also economic purpose, being at one of the few points of the river where it was possible to cross, so it was a sort of trading hub,” says Castaño, who leads a local cultural association.

Some dolmens were also positioned and used for solstice rituals, and some could have signaled land ownership and marked territory, offering another look into the structure of prehistoric agricultural life.

As for the newfound dolmen, research is ongoing as the University of Cádiz team continues to investigate its role in Andalusia and the community that surrounded it.

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