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All French heritage classified by regions, departments and cities

  2. Patrimoine
  3. Nouvelle-Aquitaine
  4. Dordogne
  5. 24400 Sourzac

  6. Cave of Las Agnelas or Gabillou

Cave of Las Agnelas or Gabillou à Sourzac en Dordogne

Dordogne

Cave of Las Agnelas or Gabillou

    34 Chemin de la Grotte
    24400 Sourzac
Grotte de Las Agnelas ou de Gabillou
Grotte de Las Agnelas ou de Gabillou

Timeline

Paléolithique
Mésolithique
Néolithique
Âge du Bronze
Âge du Fer
Antiquité
Haut Moyen Âge
Moyen Âge central
Bas Moyen Âge
Renaissance
Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1505000 av. J.-C.
1504900 av. J.-C.
…
0
1900
2000
Paléolithique supérieur
Period of occupancy and establishment
1941
Discovery of the cave
20 juillet 1942
Historical monument classification
1955
Acquisition by Jean Gaussen
1964
Publication of *The cave adorned with Gabillou*
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Grotto of Las Agnelas or Gabillou (Box C 944): by order of 20 July 1942

Key figures

MM. Charmarty et Truffier - Discoverers of the cave Identified the cave in 1941 under a dwelling.
Jean Gaussen - Owner and researcher Acheta la grotto in 1955 and published its records.
Denis et Élie Peyrony - Prehistorics The engravings were attributed to the Périgordien and Aurignacien (1941).
Pierre David et al. - Archaeologists Proposing an ancient Magdalenian dating (1952).

Origin and history

The Gabillou Cave, also known as the Las Agnelas Cave, is an adorned cave located in the commune of Sourzac, Dordogne, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. Discovered in 1941 by Messrs Charmarty and Truffier under a house, it was classified as a historical monument in 1942. Private property, it does not visit to preserve its fragile engravings, including more than 200 animal and human representations, attributed to the ancient Magdalenian.

The 27-metre-long cave is dug into sandy limestone and has narrow passageways. At about 6 meters from the entrance, a collapse suggests a communication to a lower gallery. The "Salle du Cheval Rouge", at the bottom of the cave, houses exceptional engravings, including horses, bovids, bisons, reindeer, bouquetins, mammoths, and two human figures: the "Gabillou witch" and a woman dressed in anorak with hood.

Jean Gaussen, passionate about prehistory, acquired the property in 1955 and published in 1964 a detailed document, La grotto adorné de Gabillou, including layers of more than one hundred engravings and photographs. Specialists, such as D. and E. Peyrony (1941) or David et al. (1952), debate the attribution of engravings, oscillating between Périgordien, Aurignacien and Magdalenian ancien. The cave is also known for its nine Magdalenian lamps, some of which have unique technical features.

The engravings of Gabillou are compared with those of the Combarelles, Mouthe and Font-de-Gaume, located in the valley of the Vézère. Their quality and diversity make it a major site of paleolithic parietal art. The cave is also close to another Magdalenian deposit, the Jumeau Shelter, located 450 meters north, near the hamlet of the Stones.

Classified as a historical monument since 1942, the Gabillou Cave remains a valuable testimony of art and the life of the men of the Upper Paleolithic in Dordogne. Its limited access aims to protect this fragile heritage, while allowing researchers to study its archaeological and artistic richness.

External links

Page Wikipedia
Page Monumentum