Direct dates obtained in 1995 have added an unexpected dimension to the discovery. Three samples taken from charcoal drawings of two rhinoceroses and one bison have yielded dates between 30,340 and 32,410 BP (before present). Considering the statistical margins of error, this means that the paintings were made at the very ancient date of approximately 31,000 years ago, within an interval of 1,300 years. The dating of a torch mark  (26,120 ± 400) superimposed on a calcite layer that covers a drawing proves that at least some of the representations were created at very early dates. Consequently, we must dismiss, or consider as highly improbable, the hypothesis that Solutrean or Magdalenian visitors collected some Aurignacian-age charcoal from the floor and used it to draw images on the wall thousands of years after the passage of the first occupants.