In 2018, the château de Commarque was awarded the Grand Trophy for the most beautiful restoration by Propriétés Le Figaro, Le Figaro Magazine and the Fondation pour les Monuments Historiques, in partnership with La Demeure historique.
But under the castle there is another treasure, a cave that is classified in "The World Valley of Sculpture", as the specialists have named it.
A valley which includes, among others, the bison of the Grèze, the frieze of horses of Cap Blanc, the five Venus of Laussel and the horse of the cave of Commarque.
Archaeologists record 100,000 years of human occupation and, above all, an incredible concentration of sites containing prehistoric sculptures.
It was in August 1915 that Abbé Breuil and Pierre Paris discovered the entrance to the cave of Commarque, which was hidden by a large rocky shelter at the foot of the cliff and exactly at the level of the Romanesque keep.
In 15,000 BC, this same access overlooked the valley, about 20 meters above the Magdalenian ground level.
A certain number of lithic and paleontological remains, with bones of polar foxes and boreal waxwings, attest to the occupation of the site by hunters in the Paleolithic.
The cavity is above all exceptional by its cave representations dated from the Magdalenian period, mostly animals but also many female figures, a dozen vulvae and two human faces.
The most emblematic and spectacular representation of the cave of Commarque is undoubtedly that of a life-size horse sculpted in bas-relief.
The cave must be preserved for future generations and therefore remains closed, but some of the representations are on display in the room on the second floor of the dungeon.
This room is dedicated to prehistory in an immersive, subdued and sonorous atmosphere.
An original scenography of the Prehistoric Cave has been reinvented.
A 3D film inside the cave allows to discover the inside of the cave through a realization that wants to touch the emotion of the visitor.
24620 Les Eyzies de Tayac
Phone : 05 53 59 59 00 25
