Iberian people maintained collective stone tombs into the Bronze Age

Eduardo Vijande-Vila and a team from the University of Cádiz discovered that Iberian people in southern Spain continued using large collective tombs well into the Bronze Age.

This finding challenges the previous belief that these cultures transitioned exclusively to smaller individual burials during this period. The researchers studied the necropolis of Trafalgar located near the Strait of Gibraltar. Radiocarbon dating of 16 individuals revealed that two specific tombs in the site were used between 1875 and 1625 B.C.

These dates show that the community maintained large megalithic burial structures during the second millennium B.C., making them among the last known Iberian cultures to practice collective burial. The team suggests that the necropolis might have been built during the early second millennium B.C. because they found no older materials at the site. If confirmed, this would mean the site is one of the latest megalithic projects constructed in the region.

The researchers believe this indicates that people built entirely new monumental funerary spaces rather than just reusing older monuments from the Copper Age. The site currently faces threats from strong winds and shifting sands that risk burying the tombs under dunes. The authors state that ongoing maintenance is necessary to preserve the area and allow for further archaeological study.