ANCIENT rock carvings etched over 200,000 years ago could be the oldest ever uncovered, archaeologists believe.

The exciting discovery inside a Spanish cave could rewrite human history and shed light on how people first entered Europe.

Researchers found a simple ‘X’-shaped design scratched onto a stone slab during an excavation at the Coto Correa site in the Marbella area of southern Spain.

Coto Correa has been explored since the 1950s, and it has already produced some fascinating artefacts – including some of the oldest stone tools ever found in Europe.

Some of the finds date back to the early Paleolithic era, otherwise known as the Old Stone Age.

One of the discoveries is a giant block of stone, found in 2022, which bears the engraving in question.

The design is two simple lines that cross one another at a right angle.

The line carvings prove that humans had settled in southern Spain during the Early Middle Paleolithic era.

Researchers said this was “a period little known in Spain and unprecedented in the province of Malaga”.

They also said the carving could be more than 200,000 old – putting them in the running for the earliest ever found.

Spain’s oldest-known cave art until this find is from around 100,000 years ago.

Marbella City Council said: “This unique stone, which contains a set of graphic representations of human origin could be 100,000 years older than the oldest cave art depictions.”

Scientists are pouring over the engravings to get a more accurate prediction of when the carvings were created.

The council explained: “The techniques applied for absolute dating consist of quartz analysis of different sediment samples, which will allow for a precise chronology of the samples.”

Researchers are also planning to 3D scan the stone and digitally map it.

This will give them a detailed, virtual model of the set of markings.

The council said: “This will allow the entire surface to be studied in maximum detail, allowing for the identification of working marks and graphic elements.”

Digital mapping also allows scientists to tell the difference between natural wear and intentional tool marks.

The artist behind the engraving was likely part of a wave of Stone Age humans who migrated from northern Africa and into Europe, the scientists suspect.

If the carving is as old as archaeologists suspect, then the Coto Correa site could become key to understanding human migration and settlement across Europe, they said.