Garate looks at cave paintings representing horses in the Atxurra cave, above. Researchers will continue to explore Atxurra over the next few years, and the cave will remain closed to the public in hopes to preserve the findings.

Rock paintings dating back 14,000 years have been found in a cave in a Spanish seaside resort town.

Around 50 paintings depicting horses, bisons and lions were found in a cave located under a building in the centre of Lekeitio, a village in the Basque country.

The Armintxe cave is ‘extremely difficult to access’ and located under a residential building in the centre of Lekeitio in the Basque country, senior local official Andoni Iturbe said.

Cave specialists and archaeologists have examined the paintings found in May and declared them to be the most ‘spectacular and striking’ of their kind ever found in the Iberian peninsula.

The paintings measure up to 150 centimetres (60 inches), say the research team.

They also confirmed that the cave would not be opened to the public both to preserve the paintings and because it is difficult to access.

I am always in awe of artists who took the time to draw, paint, and engrave scenes from their every day life. I’m also beyond thankful, for all the artists going back into the mists of time, for making sure there would always be windows into their world.

Daily Mail has the full story, with many more images. Hat tip to rq for this one!