Ancient Banksy in Portugal: Were the Neanderthals the first champions of public art?

*Liseli Thomas was one of four mentees who participated in Intrepid’s second Diversifying Travel Media press trip in October 2024 alongside three fellow mentees/aspiring travel journalists and four mentors/established travel writers and editors.*

“We’re here.”

I peer out the van window, but there’s only more of the endless darkness that has surrounded us  on the bumpy descent into Côa Valley’s mountain ranges.

Neighbor to northern Portugal’s famed Douro Wine Region, Côa Valley is a landscape steeped in history, and its history is etched, quite literally, into the land. As we climb out of the car, I realize I’m excited to get a first-hand viewing of ancient art left behind by the region’s nomadic Neanderthals, who traversed Spain and Portugal in the Iberian Peninsula.

It is perfectly still, as things so rarely are, with only the nearby River Côa’s streaming water to intercept the quiet darkness. I want to ask our guide Ana Berliner exactly where we are, but when she cuts the engine and her front lights shut off, the sight above silences my unsaid question.

Hundreds of stars illuminate the night sky above, each shining so brightly that I can spot Orion without squinting. An awed chorus erupts around me “Beautiful, isn’t it?” Ana muses as she looks up. “Keep your eyes up. You might spot a shooting star.”

The words barely leave her lips before a streak of white burning light dashes across the sky. “I saw one!” I exclaim, shocked. I’m already enthralled with our destination—and I haven’t even seen the art yet.