Fragments of the left side of the skull of a human relative have been discovered in Spain, revealing the face of the oldest human ancestor ever discovered in Western Europe.

The prehistoric facial bones were found buried in 50 feet of mud and silt, and are believed to be 1.1 to 1.4 million years old, researchers said.

The research team at the Atapuerca archaeological sites in Burgos, Spain, has just broken its own record by discovering, for the third time, the oldest human in Western Europe.