Dozens of images have been found in the cave of Lekeiti by the speleology group ADES and the archaeological association Agiri de Kortezubi, with the help of the Provincial Council of Bizkaia. During the press conference held on Thursday morning, the Provincial Council gave details of the discovery by the Deputy General Unai Rementeria and the Professor of Archaeology, César González.

The animals are the most visible engravings, including a bison and a large horse, 5 animals from the family of goats and even more rare felines in the images of the cliffs of the Cantabrian region. The majority of the images have been exposed in a main panel, probably in a cavity that today’s humans had not discovered, and as a result they have not ruled out finding more data about the people who made the images in subsequent excavations.

They explain that there are also abstract symbols of the Madeleine period on the cliffs, very similar to those found in the area of the Occitan Pyrenees, and they conclude that there could have been a relationship between the communities of the time.

The first studies indicate that the engravings date from 14,000 years ago, the same period as the paintings of Santimamiñe and the engravings of Atxurra that have been found recently. Most of them are located just 50 meters from the entrance of the cave.

Previously, images of the cliffs were found in Lekeitio in the cave of Lumera, but in that case they were paintings and were exhibited in a place that had already been investigated.