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Caves and shelters in France

Neandertal men, then homo-sapiens and especially Magdalenians, have always been sheltered in the natural habitats of caves and rock shelters. Archaeologists find many traces of these prehistoric habitats accumulated in successive layers.

It is in these caves that we find ornaments as in the caves of Lascaux, Chauvet. All these testimonies take the form of drawings, paintings, engravings, sculptures executed on the walls.


Sélection de 8 caves and sub-rock shelters sur 138 en France

Archaeological site of the Bigourdane Cave
Ornate cave
46330 Saint Géry-Vers

The Bigourdane Cave, located in Saint-Géry-Vers in Occitanie, is a paleolithic archaeological site with magdalenian rock engravings, not accessible to the public.
Prehistoric cave adorned known as Grotto-Christian
Ornate cave
46330 Bouziès

The Christian Cave, or Conduché Cave, is a prehistoric adorned cave located in Bouziès (Lot), classified as a historical monument. It dates from the Middle Magdalenian and houses reindeer representations and reverse V-signs.
Carriot cave in Bouziès
Ornate cave
46330 Bouziès

The Carriot Cave, located in Bouziès in the Lot, is a prehistoric cave of the Paleolithic, classified as a historical monument and rich in 148 Magdalenian graphic motifs.
Caves from Cugnac to Payrignac
Ornate cave
46300 Payrignac

The Cugnac caves, located in Payrignac, Occitanie, are a set of two prehistoric cavities, one adorned with paleolithic paintings and the other rich in natural concretions, discovered in the 20th century.
Cave of Wonders of Rocamadour
Ornate cave
46500 Rocamadour

The Wonders Cave, located in Rocamadour, Occitanie, is a paleolithic adorned cave discovered in 1920, classified as a historical monument in 1925, housing paintings and engravings over 20,000 years old.
Prehistoric Gisement of the Pious in Miers
Ornate cave
46500 Miers

The prehistoric deposit of Les Fieux à Miers (Lot, Occitanie) is a major archaeological site, housing an adorned cave and remains dating from the Middle Paleolithic period (340,000 years) in the Middle Ages, open to the public since 2007.
Pech Merle cave in Cabrerets
Ornate cave
46330 Cabrerets

The Pech Merle Cave, located in Cabrerets in Occitanie, is a prehistoric adorned cave famous for its parietal paintings dated from Gravettien to Magdalenian, classified as a historical monument since 1951.
Paleolithic cave of Cassegros

47140 Trentels

The Cassegros Cave, located in Trentels, New Aquitaine, is a cave decorated with the Upper Paleolithic, unique in Lot-et-Garonne, classified as a historical monument in 1996.