Prehistoric cave engravings discovered in France

A cave with vivid prehistoric engravings possibly dating as early as 28,000 BC has been discovered in western France.

Archaeologists hailed the engravings as a major discovery. They are believed to predate the world’s oldest cave paintings in the famed Lascaux caves, which are about 18,000 years old.

‘‘It is as important for engraving as Lascaux is for painting,’’ Dany Baraud, chief archaeologist at the Regional Direction of Cultural Affairs of Aquitaine, said of the cave discovered in the hamlet of Cussac.

Both caves are in France’s western Dordogne region.

Hundreds of yards of detailed engravings were found inside the Cussac cave depicting animals such as bison, horses, rhinoceroses, and human figures.

The site was discovered by an amateur cave explorer in September but not announced by experts until today. France’s Culture Ministry has classified the site as an historic monument, but has not yet confirmed the estimated date of the engravings.

In 1994, a cave was discovered in the Ardeche region containing some 300 drawings dating back 32,000 years.