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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Ebbou Cave, also known as the Ebbo Castle Cave, is an adorned cavity located in the commune of Vallon-Pont-d'Arc, in Ardèche (region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes). It is distinguished by its 69 parietal engravings, mainly animal representations (horses, aurochs, bouquetins), made on walls with marked reliefs. These works, of a devoid style and skillfully exploiting the natural asperities of the rock, are attributed by stylistic comparison to the upper Magdalenian, a period of the Upper Paleolithic. The cave, which has been excavated since the late 19th century, was classified as a historic monument in 1947 to preserve its fragile heritage.

The discovery of the engravings dates back to 1867, when Jules Ollier de Marichard mentioned the cave for the first time, evoking "signs of the zodiac" and "scrambles of caves". In 1873 he observed sketched animal silhouettes, but these works fell into oblivion until they were rediscovered in 1945 by the speleologists A. Bonnaud and G. Saussac. André Glory made the first surveys in 1946. Open to the public until 1964, the cave is closed due to degradations (soil stripping, breaking of concretions, modern graffiti). Between 1964 and 1999, several study campaigns deepen its topography, archaeological inventory and artistic techniques.

The name of the cave comes from a 16th century strong house, the "Château d'Ebb", built to monitor river traffic on the Ardèche, then a major commercial route. The ruins of this building are still visible near the entrance. The cavity, 260 metres long, develops on five distinct parts, including a main hall concentrating most of the engravings. The latter, made on face-to-face panels, exploit the relief to suggest the volumes of the animals, with anatomical details reduced to the essential (corners, branches, cornures). A stylistic similarity with the representations of the nearby Chauvet Cave, dated from the Aurignacian, is emphasized.

Archaeological excavations carried out in the entrance of the cave by J. P. Thévenot revealed layers attributed to the upper Magdalenian, confirming the prehistoric occupation of the site. Despite its closure to the public, the Ebbou cave remains a subject of study, as evidenced by the rock art surveys published between 2019 and 2024 by Bernard Gély. This recent work aims to document and preserve a fragile heritage, marked by centuries of erosion and human intervention.

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