The Canaveral de Leon stela (Huelva, Spain). A monumental sculpture in a landscape of settlements and pathways

A newly discovered prehistoric stela from Can similar to averal de Le ' on (Huelva, Spain) is studied through a combination of scientific methods, including thin section petrography and lithological contextualisation, various state-of-the-art digital imaging techniques for the analysis of the engraved motifs (3D modelling and Reflectance Transformation Imaging), and detection of pigments on its surface (Principal Components Analysis, HSI-contrast stretch, ferric pigments index and algebraic operations between bands), as well as archaeological surveys aimed at establishing the landscape context the stela was part of. The results reveal this stela is analogous to a larger series of late prehistoric sculptures portraying personages with 'headdresses', largely concentrated in the Iberian south-west and often connected to Bronze Age settlements and burial sites. In addition, the Can similar to averal de Le ' on stela is closely associated to an old pathway that has had a historical prominence in terms of long-distance mobility, connecting various regions of western Spain in a South-North direction.