Marco Topo at the Nerja Museum

Discover Nerja by playing

The interactive Marco Topo game at the Nerja Museum is an educational treasure hunt that helps children aged 5 to 12 discover the heritage value of emblematic museum objects in an entertaining way. The web-app challenges explore the Phoenician, Roman, Islamic and Christian periods in Nerja through archaeological finds and historical documentation. Evidence relating to the preparation of the Roman fish sauce garum takes us back to Roman times; the town’s specialisation in silkworm breeding for textile production introduces the medieval period when Nerja was under Muslim rule; and the cultivation of sugar cane as the main economic activity in Nerja and Maro shows how local society evolved from the late 16th century to the end of the 20th century. The Marco Topo challenges also explore the part of the exhibition devoted to discoveries in Nerja Cave. The museum tells how a group of five young people discovered the cave by chance in 1959 and explains the karst erosion process that formed the galleries, covering around 35,000 square metres, together with the evidence of human occupation documented there. Among the most important discoveries in Nerja Cave is the skeleton known as Pepita, whose original remains are displayed in the museum. Around 9,900 years old, it is exceptionally well preserved. The section on a Chalcolithic burial found in the cave’s Mine Chamber is also especially interesting, as is the recreation of prehistoric paintings on stalactites showing several red seals. Because these artworks cannot be seen during a cave visit due to their inaccessible location, the museum recreation is essential for interpreting them.