Clueless builders destroy 6,000-year-old Spanish tomb

by Tim MacFarlan via “Daily Mail“

Clueless builders in a Spanish town accidentally destroyed a 6,000-year-old tomb they mistook for a broken picnic table and replaced it with a concrete bench. 

The embarrassing incident took place in the town of Cristovo de Cea in the region of Galacia in Spain’s north west and was described as a ‘monumental error’ by university professor. 

The ancient neolithic tomb had been designated a site of ‘cultural interest’ by the regional government of Galicia and was supposed to have been protected by Spain’s historical heritage law.

But instead it was removed and the patch of ground on which it stood covered with a concrete slab so the ugly white bench could be installed.

The mistaken act of cultural vandalism was reported by local environmental group Grupo Ecolozista Outeiro, who wrote in a report, ‘The rolled concrete and modern picnic bench have caused irreparable damage, replacing what was a prehistoric cemetery of the first inhabitants of Cea.’

It was passed to Galicia’s public prosecutor which has opened a file on the case. It is also being investigated by the Galician Department of Culture, Education and Universities.

Juan A Barceló, a professor of prehistory at the Universitat Autonoma of Barcelona, told The Local:  ‘I was horrified when I heard this news.   

‘It is a monumental error. In Spain, no-one is allowed to take the individual decision to rebuild an historical monument, specially when it is classified in the national register, as it was.’. . . .

READ MORE