LASCAUX CAVES, DORDOGNE, FRANCE: A Treasure House of Prehistoric Art, Guest Post by Susan Kean

Lascaux Caves, Dordogne, France.

My friend Susan Kean and her partner George recently went on a driving trip from Lisbon in Portugal, through Spain, to the Dordogne region in the South of France, where they visited friends and toured the countryside, including a visit to the famous painted caves of Lascaux (a replica). Susan has graciously agreed to share her photos with The Intrepid Tourist. I have divided them into three sections, starting with the first leg of the trip, Lisbon to the Pyrenees; the second, sightseeing in the Dordogne; the third, a visit to the Lascaux Caves. Susan writes:

Area of the original cave.

We visited the Lascaux caves on the 3rd day of our visit to Dordogne. We were early for the English language tour so walked around the area of the original cave

Using candlelight to see the paintings on the ceiling.

Four teenagers discovered the caves in 1940. They are full of ancient wall paintings (600 or more) that are over 20,000 years old. 

Diagram of Lascaux Caves.

The paintings are primarily of horses, aurochs (an extinct type of large ox) and various other animals. As there are virtually no pictures of humans (except one horse with a human head) it is thought that the paintings were of religious significance. They are are also thought to be the combined painting efforts of several generations.

Exiting the reconstructed cave.

The original cave was closed in 1963 because the visitor traffic caused enormous deterioration of the bright colors of the paintings. Two amazing replicas have been built and are well worth a visit. Lascaux 2 is on the original site. Lascaux 4 is very recent recreation with a large museum, large gift shop and restaurant. I’m glad we saw both. However, I liked Lascaux 2 best as it is the location of the original cave.

Painted auroch.

The tour guide explained how they got the primitive colors. They used Magnesium for black which is different than the usual charcoal. If they had used charcoal the paintings would be have been easier to date. Apparently the diet of the people was primarily reindeer. No reindeer appear in the paintings.

Lastly we visited Thot park where more recent versions of the animals from the area can be seen.

Thot Park reindeer.

The Thot park recent ox are much smaller than the extinct wild ox (auroch) as displayed in the cave paintings.

Thot Park ox.

Previous posts about Susan's trip:

    ROAD TRIP: LISBON TO THE PYRENNEES, October 30, 2023

    ROAD TRIP: THE BEAUTIFUL DORDOGNE REGION OF FRANCE, November 6, 2023