An article by Cheyenne Macdonald for DailyMail.com and AFP - The first art gallery? Archaeologists discover large collection of 14,500-year-old animal paintings in Spanish cave - reports on the recent discovery by archaeologists of a hidden gallery of ancient paintings deep within the Atxurra cave in northern Spain.

The gallery of ancient cave paintings, roughly 100 meters long, shows horses, bison, goats, and deer. One image is of a bison being stuck with many spears. The artwork is between 12,500-14,500 years old, from the Upper Paleolithic. According to the report, the site contains the largest known number of cave paintings - at least 70 - in the Basque Country.

Atxurra cave is situated 50km from the Basque city Bilbao, in a village called Berriatua. The cave paintings were discovered by archaeologist Diego Garate and caver Inaki Intxaurbe.

Archaeologists discover collection of 14,500-year-old #art in Spanish cave https://t.co/YssfEq611Y #archaeology pic.twitter.com/39ijtDp6zF

— Bradshaw Foundation (@BradshawFND) May 25, 2016

The caves were first discovered in 1929, and local authorities recruited cavers to conduct explorations in 2014. But, it wasn't until September of 2015 that the cave paintings were discovered 300 meters into the cave, at about four meters above the ground along an expanse of dangerous ledges. Researchers believe the paintings may once have contained black pigmentation from coal, and may have been scraped into the stone by artists using flint tools. Over thousands of years, the paintings have faded to become barely visible to the untrained eye.

Researchers will continue to explore Atxurra over the next few years, and the cave will remain closed to the public for the sake of preservation.

Read more about Palaelithic cave paintings:
http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/clottes/index.php