Archaeologists have discovered probably the earliest Greek art in a cave in Crete, dating back to the last Ice Age, according to the Journal of Archaeological Science.

The artwork found in Asphendou Cave is the earliest known Greek portrayal of extinct animals and is more than 11,000 years old.

Speaking to the journal, Dr Thomas Strasser of Providence College, Rhode Island said: “This is the first palaeolithic art ever found in Greece and it’s significant because it deepens the history of art thereby many thousands of years, and is like an eyewitness account of Ice Age Crete.

“Archaeological and palaeontological information, as well as new technologies unavailable to earlier scholars, offer evidence to confirm a palaeolithic date for the earliest carvings.”

Located in the mountainous Sphakia region of western Crete, Asphendou Cave has been known for its petroglyphs, described by Strasser as “a confusing jumble of engravings that had eluded dating”.