26,000-year-old human, animal footprints found at Spanish construction site

When a one-billion-euro housing development project in Madrid unearthed footprints and stone artifacts dating back 26,000 years, the site was declared a BIC Asset of Cultural Interest, and construction was halted to preserve history first.

With billions of dollars on the line, however, archeologists responded quickly to the unexpected discovery in March. They began excavating the site, searching for more relics from the distant past.

In a short period of time, a team of thirty people, including geologists, technicians, paleontologists, and restorers, ascertained that this future development project would sit on top of what turned out to be a unique site, on top of it.

A priceless place, archeologists plan to warn the Madrid City Council that they should have left the plot as an archeological reserve to investigate further in the future, Juan Sanguinos said, one of the project researchers, in The Olive Press.

What will Madrid City Council do?

Pleistocene settlement found at a major construction site

Construction workers happened to uncover incredibly ancient footprints in the Mendez Alvaro district of Madrid. And not only human either. Among the living creatures that visibly walked upon this Earth 26,000 years ago are rhinoceros and herbivores.

The company spearheading the housing project responded appropriately by alerting local archeologists. Upon closer investigation, they found stone relics also 26,000 years old leading archeologists to identify the site as a Pleistocene settlement.

In other words, from the Ice Age.

After surveying 2,000 square meters, or about half an acre, the paleosurface revealed that several rivers had merged here. Thus, animals and humans came to drink, which explains the presence of footprints. Furthermore, excavation head Pilar Oñate told The Olive Press that this site was far more than a drinking well but also a “ unique settlement .”

“Something like this was not known about in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, but previously only on the Cantabrian coast and generally in cave areas and shelters, rather than being in the open air.”

What will the city of Madrid do?

One footprint ended up being a mere step to opening up a new world that sheds new light on our very ancient ancestors. The clock is ticking, all the same, so archeologists sent a drone into the air to take photographs and 3-D images of the site, Express UK writes .

Having gathered as much information as they can, the window of time allotted to researchers is closing. The site’s significance as the first discovery of its kind begs the question of what the city will do next.

As The Olive Press reports, archeologists plan to bring the matter to Madrid City Council that “a playground right in front of the development could almost certainly have as many unique remains that have been documented this year.”

So, will the pictures taken provide the City Council with enough evidence to work with all parties involved to keep digging as excavations can take years? Will business and science come to an agreement allowing historians to continue working on a priceless piece of history? Or is a billion dollars just a touch too much money?