Neanderthals are generally viewed as humanity’s poor relation, whose lack of social cooperation and poor intellect placed them on the path to extinction, while homo sapiens flourished.

But an astonishing new discovery suggests that they were once far more developed than our own species.

The first ever man-made structures have been found by archaeologists excavating caves in southwestern France dating from 176,500 years ago. And it appears they were constructed by Neanderthals.

The strange circular enclosures were built using stalagmites and stalactites, with chunks snapped from the cave roof and floor to form walls, in a similar way to how dry-stone walls are built today, with smaller pieces filling the gaps. They rose 15 inches in height and were 20ft wide.