Professor Danielle Schreve, of Royal Holloway University’s Centre for Quaternary Research, who is working on the remains, said the closest modern analogue was the African savanna.

“It is what we call a non-analogue environment, this environment doesn’t exist today,” Prof Schreve told The Telegraph. 

“This was a really rich and rather dry landscape. And it’s one that the herbivores are managing themselves. The more they graze, the more the grass grows and trees are prevented.” 

Prof Schreve said one reason for the large number of animals present could be that predators had been drawn to the cave by the carcasses of previous victims, before becoming trapped. 

The cave environment, which was protected from mudslides and erosion, would have shielded the remains, while the alkaline environment would have helped to prevent decay. 

It will take many months of research to precisely date and research the finds, but they could provide an insight into how climate change affected Britain’s megafauna.