A glimpse into prehistoric life: Stunning 7,000-year-old hunting scenes discovered inside a Spanish cave
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Amazingly well-preserved cave paintings dating back seven millenia have been discovered in Spain.
The stunning murals provide a rare glimpse into daily prehistoric life - showing dramatic hunting scenes including human archers.
Despite being exposed to harsh weather, the 'totally unique' artwork has survived on a 19ft (6 metre) long wall inside a small cave in Vilafranca in Castellón, in the east of the country.
Cave paintings dating from 7,000 years ago have been discovered in Spain, which show hunting scenes including human archers and primitive bulls (pictured) called aurochs
The exact location of the cave is being kept a secret until the paintings can be properly protected and preserved, The Art Newspaper reported.
Archaeologists discovered the ancient paintings, which include drawings of two aurochs - ancestors of modern cattle - two human archers and a goat.
Computer analysis has made it possible to identify aspects of the paintings, which had not been easily visible behind the dust. This image is enhanced using digital technology. Experts think that the figures (pictured) evoke hunting scenes and moments prior to the chase
A layer of dust protected 10 figures, which were exposed to the weather, but thankfully the pigmentation of the paintings has not suffered as a result. This image shows one of the archers beneath the dust
PREHISTORIC ARCHERY
The newly discovered paintings in the cave appear to show a human using a bow and arrow.
The primitive weapon is known to have been invented by the end of the Upper Palaeolithic.
Bows eventually replaced spear-throwers as the predominant way of catching food.
The oldest evidence of archery in Europe was found in a valley in Hamburg, Germany and is up to 13,000 years old.
Arrows were made of pine and had flint points.
The oldest definite bows were found in Holmegård swamp in Denmark in the 1940s and have been dated to 8,000 BC.
A layer of dust protected 10 figures, which were exposed to the weather, but luckily the pigmentation of the paintings has not suffered as a result.
Computer analysis has made it possible to identify aspects of the paintings that had not been easily visible behind the dust.
Experts believe the figures evoke hunting scenes and the moments prior to the chase.
Researchers from the University of Barcelona, the University of Toulouse II Le Mirail and the University of Valencia came across the site while they were examining another area in the region.
Inés Domingo Sanz, a research professor at the University of Barcelona said: 'Some of the [painting] details are unique [and unlike anything] across the entire Mediterranean Basin'.
More research is planned to shed light on the discovery. The uncovered site means that links could be established between the paintings in the area of Valltorta-Gasulla with those situated in Bajo Aragón, as the Vilafranca region lies between them.
The Valltorta-Gasulla caves are filled with images of archers and large animals, such as an enormous primitive bull, and are considered to be some of the most important examples of open air cave paintings in the world.
Some caves show examples of agriculture and hunting scenes, such as a single male attacking a group of deer with a bow and arrow, hinting at a technique used by the primitive inhabitants of the caves.
Experts discovered the paintings on a 19ft (6metre) long wall in a small cave in Vilafranca (marked) in Castellón, in the east of Spain
Researchers from the University of Barcelona, the University of Toulouse II Le Mirail and the University of Valencia came across the site while they were examining another area in the region. Here, it is possible to see the painting of the auroch beneath the dust
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