The Costa del Sol cave that went from being squatted and vandalised to key to discovering the last Neanderthals in Spain

The Cueva de la Victoria in Rincón de la Victoria on the eastern Costa del Sol is one of the most interesting 'new' Upper Palaeolithic sites in the Mediterranean. Squatted and vandalised for years, this ancient cave has become one of the most important sites to shed light on one of the greatest scientific debates: the last days of the Neanderthals and the arrival of Homo sapiens in Europe.

Now, following authorisation from the Junta de Andalucía's cultural department, the excavations will return to this place of cultural importance (BIC) in mid-October. Furthermore, up to 20 people per day will have the opportunity to see the caves and the excavation work in situ.

"The rescue of the Cueva de la Victoria has been a great archaeological surprise, as it was almost deserted because it was used to collect guano until the 20th century, a natural fertiliser from bats, and, although it was later studied, it also experienced episodes of squatting," archaeologist Pedro Cantalejo explained.

Cantalejo, together with María del Mar Espejo, has been responsible for the campaigns in this cave for the last two years and for opening it to the public, combining tourist and scientific visits, he explained to SUR.

For the last four decades the research team has been working in the cave and has now started with the 20th century surveys by the archaeologists Giménez Reyna and Jorge Rein (1941), who studied the Upper Palaeolithic sequence, and later by Professor F. Javier Fortea (1972), who turned his attention to a space next to the large shaft, in the so-called Sala de las Conchas (Chamber of Shells).

The latter concluded that the occupation of the oldest cave dates back to the Magdalenian period, in the Upper Palaeolithic, a period to which the famous Altamira caves also belong. The first intervention of the Espejo and Cantalejo team was based on the archaeological cleaning of the cave to uncover the previous excavations and, without touching them, to apply the current dating methodology.

The results were surprising. "When we dated the calcareous deposits that accumulated, we realised that underneath the floor investigated by Fortea there are remains from the Gravettian period of the first Homo sapiens who arrived on the Iberian Peninsula," explains the expert, who dated the cave as much older than first thought; from 15,000 years ago to 28,800 years ago.

However, underneath the area excavated by Giménez Reyna and Rein, they also found something new. "The remains of the Neanderthals, that is, 40,000 years old", says Pedro Cantalejo, who adds that "these discoveries have completely changed the way we look at the Cueva de la Victoria", as the new excavations that have been authorised and will begin in mid-October "place this site on an international level, as it remains intact in the 21st century on the coast of Malaga, which is also extraordinary because we are in one of the areas that is under the most urban development pressure in the Mediterranean".

By proving that it has been a home to both the last Neanderthals and the first Homo sapiens, the cave may provide new findings about that border and transition period between species which, in the case of Malaga, were eminently fishermen. "We no longer see this area and the Strait of Gibraltar as a barrier, but as a bridge with the interaction of the last groups of Neanderthals who took refuge in the Iberian Peninsula and the first Homo sapiens who jumped over, producing a coexistence that lasted thousands of years and which has never been studied," says Cantalejo.

The archaeologist was also guardian of the Ardales cave until his recent retirement and maintains that he cannot avoid the parallels with the present day with the migrations from Africa to Europe in small boats that often end in tragedy.

The Cueva de la Victoria can provide new dates for the occupation of these populations in the province as "we are going to try to reach the last Neanderthal soil", explains the researcher, who adds that the excavations will continue at least until 2025 with a new campaign next year, as agreed with Rincón de la Victoria town hall.

The town hall, together with the provincial authority, the Diputación de Málaga, the Cueva de Nerja research institute and the University of Cádiz have all supported the work being carried out in the cave. In addition to obtaining samples, the rock art will also be catalogued using imaging technologies, while the team is supported by international universities and the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig, one of the most cutting-edge scientific institutions with more than twenty Nobel Prizes won by its members.

The work is also interesting in that it is not carried out exclusively for research purposes, but can also be observed by visitors, meaning 20 people a day can have access to the Cueva de la Victoria during the excavations in two-hour visits at a cost of 16.50 euros, an income that also finances the work, which this year has a budget of 26,075 euros.

"Those who visit us use the same stairs and spaces, and during the excavations we don't dismantle anything, but rather we tell them what we are doing", explains Cantalejo.