History Midi-Pyrénées

Pre-Historic Art in Midi-Pyrénées

The Midi-Pyrenees boasts 3,000 identified cavities. Whether cathedrals made of stone and limestone concretions or the moving witnesses of Palaeolithic art, approximately twenty caves have been equipped and are now open to the general public.

 The cave of Niaux in Ariege, the largest painted cave, along with the caves of Lascaux and Altamira, to name but a few, feature among the most famous. The caves of Padirac in the Lot are said to be the work of the devil himself and the caves of Rocamadour, which deserve the name "grotte des Merveilles" (Cave of Wonders) have cave paintings that are 20,000 years old.

 There are many other wonderful sites to satisfy your curiosity, such as the caves of Mas d'Azil, Bédeilhac, La Vache, Pech Merle and Gargas.

Thanks to the riches discovered within its countless cavities, the Ariège has become an International example in terms of cave art. First on the list of caves that can be visited there is Niaux, the largest painted cave, on par with those of Lascaus and Altamira. It owes its fame to its "black drawing room" upon the walls of which hundreds of bison, ibex, stags and horses are brought to life.

The "Dune des pas" in Niaux on the other hand is considered to be fragile and visits are therefore forbidden. However, the Parc Pyrénéen de l'Art Préhistorique (The Pyrenean Park of Prehistoric Art) in Tarascon-sur-Ariège houses its reproduction and also explains the mysteries of the Magdalenians, our common ancestors. These hunters and gatherers drew and made their own jewellery, as witnessed by the caves of Mas d'Azil. A Magdalenian 'home' had been recreated there among the remains of bear, mammoth and rhinoceros bones and the Mas d'Azil museum houses a great many art objects.

 Our predecessors also lived in the caves of Bédeilhac, which boast moulded bas-reliefs made of clay, are unique throughout the world. In the caves of la Vache, an intact Prehistoric hunter's settlement has been unearthed.

 The caves of Gargas owe their worldwide fame to their mutilated hand stencils of which there is no other example elsewhere. A total of 217 hands are outlined in red, yellow or white: a message that dates back 25 or 30,000 years but which still hasn't been solved to this day.

 In the department of the Lot, another important Prehistoric centre, there is the sanctuaire (sanctuary) de Pech Merle, in Cabrerets in the 'vallée du Célé'. Two young people from the village found this cave in 1922, discovering it practically by chance. It had lain dormant for 24,600 years. Corridors and galleries connect the 7 sumptuous chambers of Pech Merle in which the cave art is revealed in all its glory: engravings, paintings, enigmatic signs, hand and footprints. It's an invitation to continue the journey with the exploration of the 'Grotte des Merveilles' (Cave of Wonders) in Rocamadour in which beautiful mineral concretions enhance the cave paintings and the 'negative' hand stencils that date back approximately 20,000 years.