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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Fourneau-du-Diable is a natural rocky overhang overlooking a prehistoric site of the Upper Paleolithic, located in Bourdeilles, Dordogne. This site, classified as a historic monument in 1980, delivered carved blocks dated to the Solutrean, including a block decorated with eleven animal figures (aurochs, horses, cervids). These works, now preserved at the National Museum of Prehistory of the Eyzies, bear witness to a rich human occupation, with tools and vestiges dating from Gravettien, Upper Solutrean and Final Magdalenian.

The excavations, initiated in 1863 by amateur archaeologist Paul Hurault de Vibraye, were deepened by Denis Peyrony between 1919 and 1924. The latter revealed various levels of occupation, including a major carved block in 1924, as well as human remains and tools (burins, scrapers, blades). The site is divided into two areas 450 metres apart: the Fourneau-du-Diable proper and the Moneries deposit, both located along the departmental road 106E2, bordering the Dronne.

The name of the site, like others in the Dordogne (e.g. "Gorge of Hell" in the Eyzies), evokes frequent supernatural references to prehistoric places. The sculptures of the Fourneau-du-Diable, especially those of the aurochs, have stylistic similarities with the paintings of the Lascaux cave, suggesting a possible partial attribution of the latter to the Solutréen. Wildlife remains, dominated by reindeer, highlight the importance of this animal in the Gravettien hunts.

The archaeological site includes a cliff foot bordered by a slope divided into terraces, with shelters and caves protected since 1980. The objects discovered, including human clavicles, teeth and vertebrae, as well as lithic tools, illustrate a continuous occupation during the Upper Paleolithic. In 2023, a mapping confusion was reported: a nearby rock, the "Grand Rocher", was mistakenly identified as the " Rocher de la Forge du Diable" on the Geoportail.

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