Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Montconfort Cave, also known as the Montpezat Cave, is a Magdalenian archaeological site (upper Paleolithic) located in Saint-Martory, Haute-Garonne, Occitanie region. It stands out as the most northern adorned cave in the Garonne valley, combined with a prehistoric occupation and parietal art accessible to natural light, like the Gourdan cave. Its porch, facing south-southeast, opens widely on the valley (5 × 3 m), extended by a 10 m vestibule and a narrow corridor 1 m wide, for a total depth of 16 m.

The cave, dug in a limestone of the Senonian (Medium Maastrichtian, ~72-66 Ma), is located in the small Pyrenees massif, marked by an east-west fault. It has been known since 1882, the date of its first excavations by L. Darbas, then curator of the Labit museum in Toulouse. The site delivered Magdalenian tools (lames, Lussac-Angles-type sagaies, flint scrapers) and fireplaces, showing links between Aquitaine and southern regions (Pyrénées, Quercy, Cantabria).

Parietal engravings, discovered between 1980 and 1985 by Jean-Paul Huot, include a 70 × 40 cm bison engraved on the left wall, partially eroded by natural phenomena (celiffraction, bacteria). Attributed to the average Magdalenian by N. Aujoulat (1990), they are illuminated by natural light. A moulding of the panel was made in 1992 by the Association for the Development of Prehistory in Midi-Pyrénées. The cave, registered as a historical monument since 1993, is now closed to the public and protected by a gate.

A human skull used as a container, mentioned by Hugo Obermaier and quoted by Burkitt, suggests a solutrean occupation, although this attribution remains discussed. The nearby site, the cave of the Tourasse (or cave of Montpezat), is located 1 km northeast, near the former castle of Montpezat, on a promontory overlooking the Garonne. These two caves illustrate the prehistoric importance of this area, marked by successive occupations and rare rock art in the Pyrenees.

Protection of the site, effective since 8 February 1993, covers Parcel B 308 (soil, basement and cavities). Subsequent excavations and studies, such as those of É. Boche (2005) or N. Aujoulat (1990), confirmed its key role in understanding the cultural and artistic exchanges of the Magdalenian. The cave remains an exceptional testimony of prehistoric life in southwestern France, combining habitat, art and tools in one place.

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