A 5,000-year-old dolmen, a pre-historic monument with upright stone walls and a stone roof usually containing numerous burials, has been discovered in Teba, near Malaga in southern Spain. It is in an outstanding state of preservation and promises to add new information about the funerary practices of the southern Iberian Peninsula during the 3rd millennium B.C.Archaeologists from the University of Cdiz discovered the dolmen in their fourth excavation of the La Lentejuela necropolis. The monument is 13 meters (43 feet) long with walls composed of orthostats (vertical stone slabs) two meters (6.6 feet) high and features a complex arrangement of internal compartments. It was roofed with large stone slabs laid horizontally over the orthostats and then a tumulus of sand and stones was built above it.Inside, the team found several prestigious ossuaries and grave goods crafted from exotic raw materials such as ivory, amber, and seashells, as well as sophisticated flint pieces, such as arrowheads, large-format flint blades, and an exceptional halberd.According to Professor Serafn Becerra, we could be talking about one of the most monumental and complete dolmens in all of Andalusia. For his part, project co-director Eduardo Vijande emphasized that the true potential of this structure lies in its extraordinary state of preservation, which will allow us to gain a detailed understanding of the lifestyles and beliefs of these communities.The team also emphasized the symbolic value of the objects found. As Professor Juan Jess Cantillo of the University of Cdiz explains, the presence of seashells in an inland area reflects the importance of the sea as an element of prestige and the existence of long-distance exchange networks.