Deep in the Atxurra caves in Spain, archaeologists have uncovered what might be the world’s first art gallery.

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An archaeological team from the Provincial Council of Biscay have located 14 panels that feature at least 70 etching of animals that date back to the Upper Paleolithic era, according to a press release. The paintings are about 14,000 years old and were about 1,000 feet deep within the cavern, which made them difficult to find and study.

However, archaeologist Diego Garate and his team were able to identify some of the animals in the paintings, including horses, bison, goats and deer, according to the release. In one carving, a bison in being impaled by the spears of hunters. 

“This poor man is possibly the most hunted animal across Europe,” Garate said about the bison during a press conference. 

Over the course of thousands of years, the paintings have faded to the point that they are barely visible to the untrained eye. The researchers say they may have contained black paint at one time but weren't well preserved, according to the release.

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This would be consistent with the time period; it was during the Upper Paleolithic that modern humans began to take over and experienced a “creative explosion,” with the use of tools made of stone, bone, antler shell and wood for both artistic and labor purposes. 

So far only four inspections of the cave have been made and researchers still have yet to explore its third part, according to EFE Futuro. This means the number of panels and animals represented could exceed the 70 currently recorded. 

The Atxurra cave was first discovered in 1929 and was excavated between 1934-35 by Jose Miguel de Barandian, according to the release. The project was picked back up in 2014 to assess the site’s potential. 

Researchers will continue to explore the cave over for an initial period of three years, EFE Futuro also reports. Their studies are expected to slow down due to the installation of scaffolding and safety equipment to get a better look at the paintings, and to analyze the final third of the cave. 

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