"We are talking about a set of new engravings that represent the head of a horse, a goat and geometric figures, and which are framed in a graphic complex that dates back to prehistoric times,” said Pedro Salvado, director of the local archaeological museum. “They appear to be from the Upper Paleolithic period, but will have to be studied more deeply."

According to Salvado, the engravings were recently identified by a team from the José Alves Monteiro Municipal Archaeological Museum while carrying out monitoring of an area where similar engravings were discovered in 2003.

The set now identified features different figures, one of which is particularly well preserved in the rock, with a sharp image representing a goat.

"It is also a rock that is very close to the water line and confirms the importance that the river has always had in the communities,” said Salvado. “We are looking at a set of millennia-old messages that confirm the importance of this fabulous site, the Caldeirão pool, which continues to communicate and is far from being exhausted from the point of view of study.”

After finding the images, the museum informed specialists, namely Primitiva Bueno and Rodrigo de Balbín, professors of prehistory at the University of Alcalá in Madrid, who were quick to confirm the importance of the discovery in opening the door to "a complete sequence of the Upper Paleolithic" in the region.

Contacted by Lusa, the mayor of Fundão, Paulo Fernandes, said that this scientific work will "certainly" be accomplished, not least as part of the newly created National Network of Prehistoric Art set up by the Côa Museum – which looks after the country’s most famous set of prehistoric engravings. Fundão is a founding member of the network.

Fernandes also highlighted the importance of the discovery and recalled that, after the first engravings were discovered, the municipality invested in a programme for visitors and an exhibition space on them. That investment is not to be intensified in order to include the new information, both in the programmes and in the displays.

"These are very important discoveries that consolidate what is a top-notch archaeological site that makes us an indispensable stop on … prehistoric art routes in Portugal," he said.