Gran Canaria cave discovered to be former granary

An international research team has discovered that the Cruz de la Esquina cave in Acusa Seca, Gran Canaria, originally functioned as a granary before being repurposed as a burial site between the 7th and 9th centuries AD.

Led by Pedro Henríquez-Valido from the University of Alcalá, the study published in the journal Antiquity utilized the analysis of over 8,000 preserved arthropod remains. The high concentration of weevils and other insects associated with cereal storage suggests the cave held significant quantities of grain, far exceeding what would be expected for simple funerary offerings.

The exceptional preservation of the site allowed researchers to recover not only human skeletal remains but also organic materials such as wood, vegetable fibers, leather, and rope, helping to reconstruct the site's transition from an economic storage space to a sacred funerary location.