It has been previously suggested that the high‐pressure metamorphic rock complex of Motalafjclla, central‐western Spitsbergen, is older than Lower Silurian. An unconformity has been discovered at the base of a limestone which contains fossils similar to those reported as Lower Silurian from the same massif. This proves that the high‐pressure metamorphics represent an older rock complex. The unconformity surface is inverted in the area, and large recumbent folds involving the Silurian Bulltinden Formation have been mapped. These folds are considered to be pre‐Carboniferous. Copyright © 1983, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved