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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The cave of Escabasses, located in the Lot department on the commune of Thémines, is a prehistoric adorned cave discovered in a karst context typical of the causse de Gramat. Its entrance, obstructed by scalips, opens at the bottom of a doline called "naup des Escabasses". The cave consists of several halls and galleries, including the gallery of the small horse (hosting rock paintings) and the Canet gallery (where a palmipede engraving was discovered). Although private property, it has been protected as historical monuments since 1968.

The first archaeological explorations date back to the 1920s, with surveys conducted by André Niederlender and Raymond Lacam in 1929. These excavations revealed artifacts dated to the Bronze Age, Iron Age and Gallo-Roman Period, attesting to a multi-severe occupation. However, it was the speleologists G. Canet, J.-P. Bourdon de Rueyres and Michel Lorblanchet who, in 1962, discovered the prehistoric paintings, including a sign representing two horses and a hairy animal. A deeply incised palmipede engraving was also identified by G. Canet in 1961 in a terminal casing.

During World War II, the cave served as a refuge for guerrillas, adding a modern historical dimension to its prehistoric heritage. The rock works, although partially eroded, are attributed to a period between the Gravettien and the ancient Magdalenian (higher Paleolithic). The cave, although not accessible to the public, remains a major site for the study of parietal art in Quercy, as evidenced by the scientific publications of Michel Lorblanchet and other researchers.

The geological configuration of the cave, with its narrow galleries and stalagmites rooms, reflects the karst processes characteristic of the Gramat causse. Close to the Roucadour Cave (2 km away), it is part of a network of prehistoric cavities rich in remains. Its classification in 1968 underlines its heritage importance, despite its status as private property and its inaccessibility to the general public.

The objects discovered during the polls (pottery, pendants, bone punches) reveal a discontinuous human occupation, from Mesolithic to Gallo-Roman times. The paintings and engravings, although fragile, offer a rare testimony to the artistic expressions of hunter-gatherers of Paleolithic in southwestern France. Studies conducted since the 1960s have documented these works, while highlighting the challenges of their conservation in an unstable underground environment.

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