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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Combarelles cave is an adorned cave located in the commune of Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil, Dordogne, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. With more than 600 engravings, it is considered a major site of the parietal art of Magdalenian, a period of higher Paleolithic from about 18,000 to 13,000 years before the present. These finely crafted engravings represent a diverse fauna (horses, reindeer, bouquetins, mammoths, etc.) as well as anthropomorphic schematic figures. Since 1979, the site has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site among the fifteen "prehistoric sites and caves adorned with the Vézère Valley".

The cave consists of two main galleries, Combarelles I and Combarelles II, discovered in 1901 respectively by Denis Peyrony, Louis Capitan and Henri Breuil, and partially searched by Émile Rivière between 1891 and 1894. A third decorated area, Combarelles III, was discovered in 2005 by Marc Delluc, bringing the total length of the galleries to about 300 metres. These spaces were formed by the flow of an underground river into limestone. The original paintings, now extinct due to moisture, leave room for intact engravings, bearing witness to the art and life of the Magdalenian populations.

The Combarelles cave has been classified as historical monuments since 1902 for Combarelles I and 2025 for Combarelles II (after an inscription in 1943). Open to the public, its visit is strictly regulated to preserve engravings: only 78 visitors per day, in groups of up to 12 people. This site illustrates the importance of the Vézère Valley in the study of the Prehistory and artistic expression of Paleolithic societies.

Future

Since 1979, the site has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in association with other sites and caves adorned with the region as "Prehistoric sites and caves adorned with the Vézère Valley".

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