Also in 1863, Marquis Paul de Vibraye, an archaeologist who also started searching Laugerie Basse, and the finder (1864) of the now famous “Immodest Venus of Laugerie Basse”, the first feminine statuette to be found in France came to Les Eyzies. In 1865, Elie Massénat succeeded the first 3 researchers and launched a 20-year long excavation campaign with Léonard Delpeyrat, an inhabitant of the neighbouring hamlet.

All excavated pieces were published in 1900.

The beginning of the XX century was marked by the threatening arrival from Bern of the Swiss Otto Hauser, all his discoveries were directly sent abroad to the detriment of Science.
Fortunately, in 1913, Laugerie Basse was sold to Achille Le Bel, an eminent chemist, and Jean Maury became head of the excavation team: at last Laugerie Basse was saved from this dangerous foreign hold.
Most of the work done during the following 3 years related to the Marseilles shelter. Jean Maury exploited the site and created a museum, of which he became the curator.
He also decided to stop the excavation campaign to preserve the site for future generations.

In the 80s, Alain Roussot, the curator of the Museum of Aquitaine, started clearing the section, which enabled the detailed recording and study of its stratigraphy: the first 4 layers described were subdivided into 27 different layers. One part of layer 15 was then carbon dated at 13,850 years.

Part of the Marseilles shelter still remains to be searched.

The site has been classified as a Historical Monument.

Magdalenians were Homosapiens or Cro-Magnon men offering minor differences with today’s men. Some of them have been carefully buried, as for example in Laugerie Basse.

The last major drop in temperatures in the climatic history of the Earth, also called last “ice era”, took place during the Superior Paleolithic period, and during the coldest periods the temperature could -on a yearly average- be 4 to 5°c colder than today. Such a difference has a marked influence on both the flora and the fauna.

The Vézère valley used to host animal species that are typical of cold climates and that have now disappeared, such as the mammoth or the hairy rhino, and also species that still live today under the polar circle, such as the musk ox, the polar fox or the reindeer. Reindeers were the most hunted of all during Magdalenian times in Périgord. Excavation campaigns in Laugerie Basse have revealed that 90% of all bones discovered were reindeer bones.

Dead animals were fully utilized: flesh and fat were consumed, the skin was used for clothing or building huts, bones and antlers were turned into needles, harpoons, assegais or works of art.

The Magdalenians were not only great hunters, but also fishermen fishing trouts, salmons, pikes, and creating for all these activities quite sophisticated weapons such as assegais, propellers, etc.

The two sites are 150 metres from one another.

The Prehistoric Shelter of Laugerie Basse : : Free or guided visits in French or in English.
Guide books are available in German, Dutch, Italian or Spanish.
The tour lasts 45 minutes.
The shelter is accessible to disabled persons.
Dogs are allowed.
Open from easter to october

Low season: from 10:00 a.m. to 06:00 p.m.
High season: from 09:30 a.m. to 07:00 p.m. (july – august)

LE MENTALO
LES EYZIES
Tél / Fax : 05 53 06 92 01
map (G 7)

CAFE DE LA MAIRIE
LES EYZIES
Tél : 05 53 06 98 26
map (F 6)

LAUGERIE BASSE
LES EYZIES
Tél : 05 53 06 97 91 – Fax : 05 53 06 30 70
map (F 5)

LE FONT DE GAUME
LES EYZIES
Tél : 05 53 35 18 00 – Fax : 05 53 35 18 01
map (E 11)

LA MILANAISE
LES EYZIES
Tél : 05 53 35 43 97
map (E 5)

BAR ALEXANDRE
LES EYZIES
Tél : 05 53 06 96 04 – Fax : 05 53 06 96 04
map (D 5)

LE PETIT GOURMAND
LES EYZIES
Tél : 05 53 06 94 84
map (E 5)

LA METAIRIE
LES EYZIES
Tél : 05 53 29 65 32 – Fax : 05 53 29 65 30
map (J 14)

DU CÔTÉ DE CHEZ CLO
LES EYZIES
Tél : 05 53 03 95 20
map (F 6)

LA SOURCE
TURSAC
Tél : 05 53 06 98 00 – Fax : 05 53 35 13 61
map (C 9)

LA TRUFFIERE DE GASTARY
MEYRALS
Tél : 05 53 30 34 61
map (K 13)

AUBERGE DES CINQ CHENES
SAINT FELIX DE REILHAC
Tél : 05 53 03 20 76 / 05 53 03 22 61
map (D 2)

AUBERGE DE MEYRALS
MEYRALS
Tél : 05 53 29 22 08
map (J 10)

He quickly climbed up to discover a small crack giving way to a slow flowing spring. Unaware of the origin of this flow, this inquiring mind rapidly imagined that a hidden cavity might reveal the source. After two years of hard work and a last mining foray on April 29, 1924, Jean Maury, his sister and daughter, entered the untouched cave.

“Shouts of joy and the national anthem first saluted the discovery. We could admire marvellous stalactites, whereas other strange forms, very clear and surprising, looked as if they had never been seen by anyone before, and others seemed to come straight out of unrealizable dreams – until the candles we used to light up the way began to be too small for us to continue. But at what point had we entered the cave? We passed this column again with the form of a cross, which we identified as the central point. After groping along for a while, we heard our parents calling and followed their voices to find, at last, the fox hole through which we had come. Drained of all anxiety, we presented ourselves proudly in our soaked clothes spattered with mud, filled with enthusiasm by what we had seen.”

The Grand Roc cave opened in 1927; following the discovery, 3 years were necessary to install the interior and the exterior of the cave.

The first visitors only had candles, hence a quite picturesque visit, during which not much could be seen. Acetylene lamps came later and in 1934 the electricity was installed. In 1993, the lighting of the cave was entirely reorganized. Engineers managed to conciliate the various features of the site (fragility, difficult access, necessary preservation) with a genuine artistic mise en scène of all crystallizations.

Locations

Communes of Les Eyzies de Tayac, Tursac, Montignac-sur-Vézère, Saint-Leon-sur-Vézère, Marquay, Manaurie-Rouffignac and Saint-Cirq-du Bugue, Department of the Dordogne, Region of Aquitaine
N45 3 27 E1 10 12

Theory

The Vézère Valley is on a limestone plateau in Southwestern France. It is home to several hidden calcareous caves. This is Lascaux Cave, the most well known. These drawings here date back to the Paleolithic period around 17,000 years ago. The cave was closed in 1972 for preservation work.

Subsequently decorated grottoes of the Vézère Valley including this Lascaux cave have been inscribed on the list of World Heritage. In this drawing, the front foot of the horse was drawn over the bulky rock surface to give a solid impression. The technique is used to express a galloping horse. This drawing of cattle has many layers. The front red figure is a cow, and behind her is black ox with large horns.

Why did man start to draw? Dr. Michel Lorblanchet has proposed a new theory through practical archaeology that takes account of the painting materials and artistic techniques of the time. He put charcoal in his mouth and sprays it onto the wall, exactly as people during the Paleolithic period used to do. By blowing onto the rocks, they believed that it would breathe life into something inside it. People in those days believed that some kind of supernatural power existed inside the rocks. They tried to capture this great power by projecting images of wild animals onto them. Signs of human imagination have been found here. This unicorn is drawn on the closest wall from the entrance of the Lascaux cave.

People stopped painting in these caves about 10000 years ago. Once they had mastered the skills of stock farming, they started to regard themselves as superior to other animals and with that change the Great Spirit in the caves was gradually forgotten.