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Font de Gaume - Cave Paintings from the Ice Ages
Font-de-Gaume is a cave near Les Eyzies. The cave contains prehistoric polychrome cave paintings and engravings. The paintings were discovered by Denis Peyrony, a local schoolmaster, on 12 September 1901. The cave had been known to the general public before this, but the significance of the paintings had not been recognised. Four days previously Peyrony had visited the cave at Les Combarelles, a short distance away, with the archaeologist Henri Breuil, where he saw its prehistoric engravings. The paintings in the cave at Font-de-Gaume were the first to be discovered in the Périgord province. Prehistoric people living in the Dordogne Valley first settled in the mouth of Font-de-Gaume around 25 000 BC. The cave mouth was inhabited at least sporadically for the next several thousand years. However, after the original prehistoric inhabitants left, the cave was forgotten until the nineteenth century when local people again began to visit the cave. The paintings date from around 17 000 BC, during the Magdalenian period. Many of the cave's paintings have been discovered in recent decades. The cave's most famous painting, a frieze of five bison was discovered accidentally in 1966 while scientists were cleaning the cave.Text above: Wikipedia
This photograph gives a good idea of where the cave fits in the local landscape. The cave entrance is on the right background of the photo, at the point where the third lot of trees climbs up the slope, dividing the cliff into four segments in this photo. The cave contains many paintings from the Ice Ages.
Photo: Don Hitchcock 2008
Further along the cliff line.
While most photos of Font de Gaume on archaeology websites show only the prominent headland jutting out over the parking area for the busy ticket office at Font de Gaume, which services all ticketing for the large number of archaeological sites in the area, the actual entrance for the cave is up hill behind the small building shown in the panorama above.
This view is obtained by going up the side road not far from the ticket office.
Photo: Don Hitchcock 2008
These are close ups of the prominent headland near the Font de Gaume cave, and above the ticket office there. From the ticket office there is an uphill walk of several hundred metres to the entrance to the cave, and these photos show successive views on the way up the path.
Ayla (from the book 'Shelters of Stone' by Jean Auel) says it looks like the face of the Mother.
Photo: Don Hitchcock 2008
This magnificent frieze of five bisons was only discovered in 1966. It had been obscured and protected by a layer of grey calcite mixed with iron and clay deposits that had made the paintings almost invisible. They were thus protected from the fate of many of the first paintings to be discovered, which were in some cases obscured with graffiti.
Five bison, with finely engraved contours and with their bodies painted in black-brown and red, against a background of yellow limestone concretions above a ledge, for at least four of them, form a composition full of life. It includes males and females, and the males are shown with penises.
The floor of the cave was lowered by about a metre to make the splendid frieze of animals out of reach of visitors and thus protect them. The location of the frieze is shown on the photo above, between the crossroads and the Cabinet des Bisons, towards the far end of the cave.
Photo and text: Fanlac (1994)
One of the frieze of five bison. The paintings were restored to their former glory in 1968 when the calcite, clay and iron deposits which had protected them from the elements and from the graffiti of early visitors were removed from the paintings.
Photo: http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/conservation/fr/grottes/Pageshtm/11714.htm
This is the bison second from the left in the panorama of bisons above.
It is one of the finest polychromatic bison, in the last gallery. The subtle variations of browns, the details of the animal's anatomy and fur texture, and of its expression, make this painting one of the most remarkable examples of cave art.
Photo and text: Desdemaines-Hugon (2010)
Photo © N. Aujoulat-CNP-MCC.
Another version of the bison above, showing the surroundings of this important figure.
Photo: http://smspostcard2.blogspot.com/2010/07/france-aquitane-dordogne-font-de-gaume.html
Les hauts lieux de la préhistoire dans la vallée de la Vézère sont essentiels à la connaissance de l'expression symbolique paléolithique (~35 000 / ~9 000 av. J-C.) avec notammement les grottes de Font-de-Gaume, des Combarelles et l'abri du Poisson (Les Eyzies-de-Tayac).
Galerie principale, seconde partie, paroi de gauche, Frise des cinq bisons, sujet de gauche.
Text and photo: Postcard from Monum, Éditions du patrimoine
This is a closeup of the left most bison in the frieze of bisons. My thanks to Anya for sending this postcard.
Ticket Office at Font de Gaume, which controls access to all the gisements / archaeological sites in the area. Although the ticket office does not open until 09:30 hours, visitors hoping to get tickets to any of the archaeological sites in the area should be there at 08:00 hours or earlier during the high season of summer. Tickets may be booked ahead, but a certain number are kept for the day itself - provided you get there early enough. The gift shop attached is usually open by 09:00 hours.
This image shows the scene when I turned up at 09:00 hours having booked for the tour of La Ferrassie a few days before. The two ladies sitting on the wall were also on the La Ferrassie trip.
Visitors should also be aware that many of the less popular sites, of interest mainly to archaeologists, such as La Ferrassie or Le Moustier, are open only once or twice a week. Check ahead to find out when these tours operate. Visitors are then taken to the sites using their own cars following that of the guide.
Photo: Don Hitchcock 2008
Visitor numbers are limited to 170 people per day, which studies have shown to be sustainable, and would not affect the paintings. Any one group is limited to twelve. There are one or two tours in English each day. Tour guides at Font de Gaume can usually speak some english, but any visitor to the caves of France must expect to speak French most of the time, and most visits to other caves are conducted in French only.
The tickets are for a certain day at a particular time only, and there are 50 tickets for those who show up on the day without a reservation. The cave entrance is 400 metres up a steep hill, with the entry to the path via a rear door of the ticket office.
In 1922, the indefatigable Denis Peyrony produced a guide book for the area, 'Les Eyzies et les Environs'. This sketch map shown below and the accompanying descriptions in an organised manner of the Font de Gaume cave are invaluable.
Note that the sketch map shows a gallery, presumably sterile, ending in a grating, which is now called the Galerie Vidal.
Map of the passages in the Font de Gaume
1 A bison, with only the head very clear.
2 The hindquarters of a second bison.
3 The following bison is a beautiful animal, whose outlines are painted black with the rest of the body in red.
4 A charming bison with a large beard, painted in the same way as the previous one.
5 Two more facing each other, one red, one black, continue the series.
6 They are followed by another with a large hump, whose feet are beautifully represented.
7 Another, painted black, follows.
8 Above this bison, the silhouette of another, of which the hindquarters are lost behind a stalagmite, with a calf, painted in black, on its flank.
Taking the right hand gallery:
9 About ten metres further on and at a height of four metres we see a nice galloping horse, covered with a thin layer of calcium carbonate. In front of this, another horse whose tail, leg and thigh are formed by two stalactites.
10 On the opposite wall, the beautiful head of an antelope ends this series of paintings and engravings in this gallery.
On leaving this point, there is a total change of aspect, and seepage being very plentiful in this part of the cave, the walls are covered with a thick layer of calcite, while beautiful stalactites hang from the roof. Unfortunately, before the cave was closed, visitors had already destroyed the largest points and most beautiful columns.
Returning to the main branch:
11 At the intersection of the two galleries, looking always at the right wall, at a height of four metres, above a small ledge, we see a horse completed in simple contours, superimposed on an initial reindeer. Ahead of that, an indecipherable drawing and then a second reindeer hiding partly in the calcite layer and whose antlers emerge from this layer.
There is nothing more on this right side until the end of this chamber. Returning from the end of the chamber, we examine the other wall and may see:
12 First of all, a beautiful head of a horse or an elk without horns, whose contours are painted red.
13 Then a nice wooly rhinoceros, painted entirely in red.
14 Then a black bison which seems to merge with:
15 A nice little aurochs painted completely in black. Below the bison, the strange silhouette of a human head with the face painted black.
After a sterile space of some metres, we get:
16 A small diverticulum: the salle des bisons. Here the roof and the sides are beautifully ornamented with 13 paintings of these animals, represented sometimes in quite bizarre positions. Here, as in other parts of the cave, these images are the work of artists. We see, as M. Capitan said, that it is living art derived from personal experience.
From there until the bifurcation of the gallery, there is nothing which can be seen clearly. Moisture and old graffiti have degraded the drawings.
Then, the wall becoming drier, we note:
17 The silhouette of a bison.
18 Another bison on which is painted a deer.
19 Then a large beast painted in black, no head visible.
20 Two magnificent reindeer facing each other continue the series. The antlers and the contours of the body are painted in red and black.
The allure given to these two animals, the finesse and regularity of line, the finish of the work, recall in a striking manner the admirable engravings on stone and bone from the caves of Les Eyzies and la Madeleine.
Beneath the reindeer, we see two red tectiform signs.
21 At the side, a small black bison.
22 Further on, a large red bison 210 cm long, on which we see two tectiform signs and a small engraving of a mammoth.
23 Then, in front of the beautiful bearded bison, No. 4, near the ground, a reindeer head has been engraved.
24 Then a big red bison underlying engraved mammoths.
25 Finally, at approximately four metres from the Rubicon, under a rock projection, 50 cm from the ground, two dotted red H shaped signs.
Photo: Peyrony (1922)
Plan de la grotte de Font-de-Gaume
Photo: (d'après l'Atlas des cavernes. Imprimerie Nationale)
http://www.culture.fr/culture/conservation/fr/grottes/Pageshtm/4-4.htm
Map of the passages in the Font de Gaume
Source: A display at Font de Gaume
Photo: Don Hitchcock 2008
Entrance to the Font de Gaume cave, which is paved with a rubber mat so that visitors can scrape dirt off their shoes before entering, and to provide secure footing.
Photo: Don Hitchcock 2008
(Left) This shows a secondary entrance to a short cave of no archaeological significance, which is used to hold visitors bags while they tour the cave with a guide. The entrance to the cave proper is to the right of the baggage cave.
(Right) This is a small cave at the end of the baggage area.
Photo: Don Hitchcock 2008
View of the cliff above the cave entrance.
Photo: Don Hitchcock 2008
The photo shows the entrance to Font de Gaume Cave, under the cliff known also as Font de Gaume
Located near Les Eyzies, on the Sarlat road, Font-de-Gaume Cave is a showpiece of Magdalenian engravings and paintings from around 14 000 BC. The flints (chisels, scrapers, blades) and other things found in the cave during the excavations testify to a continual occupation since the Mousterian age, or the age of the Neandertals.
Discovered in 1901 by D. Peyrony, the Cave, 130 m long, contains about 250 paintings. The visitor can only see 30 of them, the most beautiful ones and the best preserved. After 60 m underground, the 'Rubicon' is the beginning of the decorated part of the cave, with red dots on the left wall. These caves were not used as dwellings, they were shrines, according to A. Leroi-Gourhan
Text and photo: Fanlac (1994)
Font de Gaume Entrance
This cave has never been closed by natural causes, as Lascaux was for example, which explains the bad state of the paintings. Though paintings are everywhere in the cave, they have not been seen (again) before 1901 (by the man who also discovered Combarelle a few weeks before). Kids of Les Eyzies used to play there and they carved their names and dates on the walls, sometimes destroying what the (supposed) Magdalenians did. Added to that, water deposited some calcite on the walls, hiding many of the paintings-carvings.
(Left) Composite image of the two cave entrances the visitor sees while waiting for the guide and latecomers to the tour, with the real cave entrance on the right.
Photo: Don Hitchcock 2008
Early post card of Font de Gaume.
Photo: http://catherinearnoux.perso.neuf.fr/cpa/liscart/cpa24/24cpa/gaum.htm
Painting of a wolf in Font de Gaume after Breuil, from a postcard. My thanks to Anyasun for bringing it to my attention.
What is so special with Font de Gaume is that the animals are carved, then painted inside the carving. It's a great thing, because if the paint disappears, most of the carving can still be seen. Recently, about 3 years ago, they renovated the ground of the cave for tourists. Before doing that, they studied the walls again, to be sure they did not miss any paintings.
They discovered something like 180 new 'things', from animals to simple signs. Most of them are behind a layer of calcite, and can be seen only with a UV or IR light. Utika says 'the guide showed the visitors a really cute little mammoth, about the size of my hand that they missed before. It was also then that they discovered the wolf. Only the carved part of that wolf survived'
The entrance of Font de Gaume is on the right. On the left, it's only a small cavity - small compared to the cave itself (nowadays used to leave bags, and everything that could touch the walls by mistake during the visit). This is the natural shape, but they modified the floor to make it flat.
Text: Utika 2002
Tectiforms, Font de Gaume, painted over the top of a bison.
Photo: http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/conservation/fr/grottes/Pageshtm/11715.htm
On the left wall, just before the crossroads is the famous scene of a male reindeer licking a kneeling female reindeer, with a line of other reindeer behind. It's possible to see the black
reindeer tongue brushing the female forehead.
Text and photo: Fanlac (1994)
My thanks to Anyasun for finding this book.
The 'Licking Reindeer' as drawn by Henri Breuil (photo Philippe Jugie).
Photo and text: Desdemaines-Hugon (2010)
Two reindeer, among the most beautiful representations of this prehistoric animal, the left back well engraved with a black outline and a strongly coloured brown head stretched forward towards a second kneeling reindeer. The lower parts are damaged by loss of pigment. The left has its dorsal line strongly engraved, the contour is dark. It is bending to a second, red, female reindeer.
Photo and text: http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/conservation/fr/grottes/Pageshtm/11720.htm
Polychrome bison, forming part of a frieze. The natural contours of the rock were used to implement this figure, which includes a very marked outline in red-brown highlighted with a line etched directly onto the exposed substrate. The body of the animal now seems much lighter than it would have been originally. For this part of the cave and in particular this representation there is no trace of concretions covering the pigments. It may be that the pigments have eroded from the surface.
Photo and text: http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/conservation/fr/grottes/Pageshtm/FtGaumeBisonNu.htm
Bison et cervidé de la Frise noire.
Bison and deer on the black panel.
Photo from: Agenda de la Préhistoire 2002 - 2003, a superb diary with excellent illustrations sent to me by Anya. My thanks as always.
Ensemble des peintures du carrefour
Another view of the Bison and deer on the black panel at the crossroads.
Photo from: a Castelet postcard sent to me by Anya. My thanks as always.
The black frieze: a bison and a deer in the centre are superimposed and facing in opposite directions for a three dimensional effect. Another deer is to the left, drawn in bold and masterly lines, and part of a bison can be seen at right. The central deer has the face in profile, but the horns are almost face on.
Photo and text: Desdemaines-Hugon (2010)
Photo © N. Aujoulat-CNP-MCC.
Black horse drawn using the natural forms of the rock.
The artist has incorporated natural forms of the rock relief in the work. This horse is one of the best examples that can be given in Palaeolithic art, the use of pre-existing forms. The hind limb and tail are suggested by a concretion, the curve of the belly by calcite drapery. The prehistoric artist highlighted the contours suggested by the natural relief by thick black lines. Concretions developed after the painting was completed which covered the prehistoric painting with a thin layer of calcite ensuring its protection.
Photo and text: http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/conservation/fr/grottes/Pageshtm/chevaux.htm
Two bison head to head, with superposed mammoth(s), as drawn by Henri Breuil (photo Philippe Jugie).
Photo and text: Desdemaines-Hugon (2010)
Superimposed bison, mammoths, reindeer and horses as drawn by Henri Breuil (photo Philippe Jugie).
Photo and text: Desdemaines-Hugon (2010)
The 'Small Bison Chamber', or 'Cabinet des Bisons'. Four bison form a circle in the centre of the rotunda. The animal to the right is half bison (the rear) and half mammoth (the tusks). The left hand black bison's tail flows elegantly down to form that of the lower bison. This alcove contains many other animals and signs.
Photo and text: Desdemaines-Hugon (2010)
Another version of the photo above.
The domed roof of the diverticulum of the main gallery is decorated with polychrome bison partially covered with white calcite deposits more or less thick and translucent. This area is particularly sensitive to the presence of visitors.
Photo and text: http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/conservation/fr/grottes/Pageshtm/FtGaumeCabinetBisons.htm
Cave bear bones from Font de Gaume - cutmarks on the outer side, near the ventral extremity, of an Ursus spelaeus.
Two main archaeological levels have been recognised at Font de Gaume and have been described by Prat et al. (1969):
Layer 3 is very rich in fauna and the Reindeer is the best represented taxon. The industry is quite extensive and has been attributed to a typical Aurignacian;
Photo: © P. Jugie, MNP, Les Eyzies
Text: Armand et al. (2003)
Cave bear bones from Font de Gaume - Cutmarks on the external side, in the middle part of an Ursus spelaeus.
below layer 3, in layers 4-5, the Bear is the dominant animal (followed by Ibex, Horse, Bovinae, Wolf and Deer) and according to the dimensions of the long bones, Ursus spelaeus.
Human remains (a tooth, to which is added a phalanx, or finger bone, which had not been described previously) and some lithic remains, including two Châtelperron points are also present in this level.
Photo: © P. Jugie, MNP, Les Eyzies
Text: Armand et al. (2003)
References
- Armand D., Plassard F., Prat F. , 2003: L’ours des cavernes de Font-de-Gaume III Paléo, 15 | 2003 pp. 241-244
- Desdemaines-Hugon C. , 2010: Stepping Stones, Yale
- Fanlac P. , 1994: La Grotte de Font-de-Gaume, Editions Fanlac
- Peyrony, 1922, Les Eyzies et les Environs, Ussel, Eyboulet et fils
- Prat F., Sonneville-Bordes D., 1969: Découvertes récentes de paléolithique supérieur à la grotte de Font-de-Gaume (Dordogne) Quaternaria, XI, Roma, pp. 115-132