The six mines ranged in size, stretching from smaller “extraction areas” to much larger and “substantial mining environments.”
Six previously undiscovered Bronze Age mines in southwestern Spain may help explain where the metal used in Scandinavian artifacts from the period was sourced.
The mines were found in early February 2026, during a joint archaeological survey between Sweden’s University of Gothenburg and Spain’s University of Seville and the local Provincial Archaeological Museum of Badajoz, in Extremadura, Spain.
The six mines ranged in size, stretching from smaller “extraction areas” to much larger and “substantial mining environments.”
One of the mines located near Cabeza del Buey features a longitudinal trench-like cut measuring about seventy meters long by three meters wide. The shape and style of the mine display an “organized extraction of copper-bearing ore.”
Ahead of the survey, Professor Johan Ling of the University of Gothenburg had conducted several research projects in attempt to figure out where the metal used in the Bronze Age artifacts were from.
Approximately 80 stone mining hammers documented at one of the smaller mines. These tools were used to crush and process copper- and lead-bearing ore,May 23, 2026. (credit: Johan Ling/University of Gothenburg)
Mines held veins of multiple ores
Lead isotope and chemical analyses of the artifacts revealed that much of the metal used had likely originated in southwestern Spain, though the exact location remained undefined.
During the survey, researchers found veins of copper, lead, and silver – all metals central to Bronze Age economies and trade networks – within the mines, suggesting that these newly unearthed mines may be the source of the metal.
Inside one of the mines, archaeologists also discovered approximately 80 grooved stone axes, which were used to crush and process the mined ores.
Twenty Bronze Age mines found in past decade
“The newly discovered Bronze Age mines identified over the past ten years – both by other research teams and through the approximately 20 new mines documented by our research group between 2024 and 2026 – are transforming our understanding of how interconnected Europe was already 3,000 years ago,” Ling said.
Ling explained that the discoveries “demonstrate that metal extraction in southwestern Europe was far more extensive and organized than previously recognized.”
He added that it also “provide[s] archaeological context to research pointing to ‘long-distance connections during the Bronze Age.’”
“The discovery of the new Bronze Age mines in Extremadura represents only the tip of the iceberg,” Ling went on. “In this region – as well as in Andalusia – we estimate that as many as 150 prehistoric mines may still remain undocumented and uninvestigated.”
“This has the potential to fundamentally reshape our understanding of the Bronze Age world system, in which copper mining operated as one of the key engines of the era.”
The survey was conducted as part of the University of Gothenburg’s Maritime Encounters project, a multi-year initiative (2022-2027) aiming to fill the gaps in research recently opened by archaeological and DNA studies along the Atlantic façade from Norway to Iberia.