24,000-year-old Palaeolithic cave art unearthed in Spain!

A Palaeolithic cave art, which is a site of significant archaeological importance, has been unearthed in Spain by a team of researchers. This remarkable site, which has more than a hundred individual designs, is believed to date back over 24,000 years!

The cave art was discovered within the depths of the Cova Dones, also known as Cueva Dones, situated in the Millares municipality in Spain's eastern Valencia region. Dr. Aitor Ruiz-Redondo, a Senior Lecturer of Prehistory at the University of Zaragoza and affiliated with the University of Southampton noted that while Spain is home to numerous Palaeolithic cave art sites, most are concentrated in the northern regions.
The eastern Iberian area, where this discovery was made, has been relatively unexplored in this regard.

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The researchers were initially struck by the importance of their discovery when they encountered the first painted auroch, an extinct wild bull. However, it was only through systematic surveying that they grasped the magnitude of this cave art site. Dr. Ruiz-Redondo emphasised that it ranks among the major cave art sites found in other regions, such as Cantabrian Spain, southern France, or Andalusia, but had been entirely absent from this territory until now.

This site is believed to contain the most extensive collection of individual designs or motifs found at any Paleolithic site in Europe since the 2015 findings at the Atxurra cave in Spain's northern Basque region.

Regarding the artwork's details, the researchers observed depictions of various animals, including hinds, horses, aurochs, and deer. Notably, the paintings were predominantly created using clay, a rare discovery at Palaeolithic sites. Dr. Ruiz-Redondo explained that the artists depicted animals and signs by dragging clay-covered fingers and palms across the cave walls. The cave's humid environment contributed to the preservation of these paintings over time, as they dried slowly, and some parts were shielded by calcite layers.

While this discovery is already significant, the research is still in its early stages, with much more exploration and documentation ahead within the cave.