LONDON, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Prehistoric animal carvings have been discovered for the first time in Scotland, local cultural officials said Monday.

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) reported prehistoric animal carvings, thought to be 4,000-5,000 years old, have been discovered for the first time in Scotland hidden inside Dunchraigaig Cairn in Kilmartin Glen, in Argyll, west of Glasgow.

The carvings, thought to date to the Neolithic or Early Bronze Age, include depictions of two male red deer, which are considered to have been the largest deer species in Scotland during that period.

Full-grown antlers can be seen on both animals, while anatomical details including a short tail can be seen on one. Three other quadrupeds are also visible, two of which are thought to be juvenile deer.

Valuable as sources of meat, hides, and with bones and antlers used for a variety of tools, deer would have been very important to local communities during the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, said the HES.

"These are the earliest known animal carvings in Scotland, and the first clear examples of deer carvings from the Neolithic to Early Bronze Age in the whole of the UK," said a spokesperson for the HES.

The carvings were discovered by chance by archaeologist Hamish Fenton while visiting Kilmartin Glen.

The carvings are located inside Dunchraigaig Cairn on the capstone of an Early Bronze Age burial cist.

Following Fenton's discovery, experts from Scotland's Rock Art Project examined the carvings to confirm their authenticity.

"It was previously thought that prehistoric animal carvings of this date didn't exist in Scotland, although they are known in parts of Europe, so it is very exciting that they have now been discovered here for the first time in the historic Kilmartin Glen," said Tertia Barnett, principal investigator for Scotland's Rock Art Project at the HES.

"While there are a few prehistoric carvings of deer in the UK, the only other ones created in the Early Bronze Age are very schematic. It is remarkable that these carvings in Dunchraigaig Cairn show such great anatomical detail and there is no doubt about which animal species they represent," Barnett noted.

The Cairn, which is cared for by the HES, is 30 meters wide and contains three stone burial chambers. The third chamber, where the carvings are located, was dug directly into the ground, lined with drystone-cobbled walls and capped with an unusually large stone of over 3.5 meters long.

The remains of up to 10 individuals, some cremated, were also discovered at the site when its was initially excavated in the 1860s, as well as artefacts including a whetstone.

"Kilmartin Glen has one of the most important concentration of Neolithic and Bronze Age remains in mainland Scotland, including some of the finest cup and ring markings in the country," the HES said.

"This is the first time that animal carvings of this date have been discovered in an area with cup and ring markings in the UK," it said.

The cultural agency said there are over 3,000 prehistoric carved rocks in Scotland. Enditem

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