It is located on the western slope of the Rôto Valley, close to the village of Columbeira (Roliça), it was discovered in 1962 during the work of a quarry, Vila de Bombarral, District of Leiria, Central Portugal
One of the Portuguese caves that constitutes a reference for the Middle Paleolithic, having provided clear evidence of an occupation by the Neanderthal species, the dates obtained allow us to date this presence back to around 30,000 years BP (before present).
The Gruta Nova da Columbeira was intervened by the Geological Services of Portugal team, led by Octávio da Veiga Ferreira, with the collaboration of local amateur archaeologists, who would later promote the creation of the first museum nucleus in the town of Bombarral.
The materials collected include, in terms of archaeofauna, the cave hyena, the wolf, the brown bear, the deer, the mountain goat, the aurochs, a vast set of Mousterian-type lithic industry that reveals a long and intense occupation of the cavity by groups of Neanderthals, sometimes as a permanent residence and other times in short seasonal periods.
The Gruta Nova collection constitutes the most important Mustierense collection gathered in Portugal, amounting to thousands of artefacts, whose stratigraphy was duly recorded and dated using the Carbon 14 method, associated with fauna and a human remains belonging to Neanderthal Man, the first found in current Portuguese territory.
The cave was discovered by accident in 1961 during exploration work in a mine, various utensils and stone artifacts were found, but the most important discovery was the discovery of a Neanderthal man's tooth, around 30 thousand years old.
Gruta Nova da Columbeira is located on a slope in Vale do Roto, it was discovered in 1962.
One of the few Portuguese caves occupied during the Paleolithic era and one of those that offers archaeological evidence of Neanderthal man.
According to the dates obtained, the cave shows activity of Paleolithic occupations dating back to 30,000 years BC, that is, this cave was occupied intensely by Paleolithic populations, both for permanent residence and for short seasonal periods.
The fauna highlights the presence of cave hyenas, wolves, brown bears, deer, mountain goats and aurochs.
The Gruta Nova da Columbeira was intervened by the Geological Services of Portugal team, led by Octávio da Veiga Ferreira, with the collaboration of local amateur archaeologists, who would later promote the creation of the first museum nucleus in the town of Bombarral.
The materials collected include, in terms of archaeofauna, the cave hyena, the wolf, the brown bear, the deer, the mountain goat, the aurochs, a vast set of Mousterian-type lithic industry that reveals a long and intense occupation of the cavity by groups of Neanderthals, sometimes as a permanent residence and other times in short seasonal periods.
The Gruta Nova collection constitutes the most important Mustierense collection gathered in Portugal, amounting to thousands of artefacts, whose stratigraphy was duly recorded and dated using the Carbon 14 method, associated with fauna and a human remains belonging to Neanderthal Man, the first found in current Portuguese territory.
The cave was discovered by accident in 1961 during exploration work in a mine, various utensils and stone artifacts were found, but the most important discovery was the discovery of a Neanderthal man's tooth, around 30 thousand years old.
Gruta Nova da Columbeira is located on a slope in Vale do Roto, it was discovered in 1962.
One of the few Portuguese caves occupied during the Paleolithic era and one of those that offers archaeological evidence of Neanderthal man.
According to the dates obtained, the cave shows activity of Paleolithic occupations dating back to 30,000 years BC, that is, this cave was occupied intensely by Paleolithic populations, both for permanent residence and for short seasonal periods.
The fauna highlights the presence of cave hyenas, wolves, brown bears, deer, mountain goats and aurochs.
