A significant Palaeolithic cave art site has been unearthed on the eastern coast of Spain, showcasing intricate representations of horses, deer and wild bulls.

Over 100 ancient paintings and engravings thought to be at least 24,000 years old were found in the 500-metre-deep cave Cova Dones, or Cueva Dones, in Millares, near Valencia.

Although the site was well known by locals and hikers, the paintings remained undiscovered until they were found by researchers from the universities of Zaragoza and Alicante, who are affiliated with the University of Southampton.

Aitor Ruiz-Redondo, senior lecturer of prehistory at Zaragoza and Southampton, said: "When we saw the first painted auroch (extinct wild bull), we immediately acknowledged it was important.

"Although Spain is the country with the largest number of paleolithic cave art sites, most of them are concentrated in northern Spain. Eastern Iberia is an area where few of these sites have been documented so far."

The scientists have documented over 100 motifs for their research, which has been published in the journal Antiquity, with at least 19 confirmed animal representations, many having unusually been made using clay.

They believe the discovery, first made in June 2021, is the most important paleolithic cave art site to have been found in the region with the greatest number of motifs discovered in Europe since Atxurra (Bizkaia) in 2015.

Ruiz-Redondo said: "Animals and signs were depicted simply by dragging the fingers and palms covered with clay on the walls."

The researchers believe that more art will be found in the caves as their investigations continue.