Grotte de la Mouthe contenant des peintures préhistoriques
MonumentHidden Treasure
A rock sanctuary in the Périgord Noir, the Mouthe cave reveals a 15,000-year-old parietal bestiary: bison, mammoths and woolly rhinoceroses emerge from the limestone walls in primordial darkness.
History
Nestling in the limestone cliffs of the Vézère valley, on the outskirts of Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil - the world capital of prehistory - the Mouthe cave is one of the first decorated caves in the Périgord to have been scientifically recognised and studied. Its discovery at the end of the 19th century revolutionised humanity's understanding of its own artistic origins, proving that aesthetic and symbolic creation went far beyond anything we had dared to imagine. What makes Mouthe unique among the constellation of decorated sites in the valley is the quality and density of its animal representations. Bison with massive shoulders, mammoths with lanuginous silhouettes, woolly rhinoceroses and horses with frozen gallops form a fascinating procession engraved and painted in ochre and manganese on the limestone walls. The technique used by Palaeolithic artists - exploiting the natural relief of the rock to give volume and movement to the figures - bears witness to a striking artistic mastery. The visit immerses visitors in an enveloping semi-darkness, at a constant temperature of around ten degrees, as experienced by Homo sapiens who ventured there by the flickering light of grease lamps. The silence, the damp coolness and the narrowness of some of the passages give the progression an almost initiatory character, far removed from the signposted circuits of the big museums. The natural setting of Les Eyzies, in the heart of the Vézère Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979, heightens the emotion. The cave is part of an exceptional area with the highest density of prehistoric sites in Europe, making every visit a total plunge into the origins of mankind.
Architecture
Grotte de la Mouthe is a natural cave carved out of the Cretaceous limestone of the Périgord Noir region, characteristic of the karstic formations of the Vézère valley. The underground network consists of a relatively narrow main corridor that extends several dozen metres into the side of the cliff, with a few diverticulae and occasional widenings where the cave paintings are concentrated. The temperature inside, stable at around 10 to 12°C whatever the season, and the high humidity have enabled the pigments to be remarkably well preserved over several millennia. The cave paintings are mainly found in the middle and deepest areas of the cave, where the walls have relatively flat or slightly rounded limestone surfaces. Palaeolithic artists took full advantage of the natural accidents in the rock - protuberances, hollows, veining - to give their animal figures an illusionistic relief. The techniques employed combine direct engraving in calcite and the application of mineral pigments: yellow and red ochres derived from iron oxides, manganese black or charcoal. Some of the figures are imposing in size, towering over the wall by more than a metre. The entrance to the cave, modest and unobtrusive in the landscape, contrasts with the richness of the interior galleries. No built superstructure marks the entrance to the site, in keeping with the original purpose of these cave sanctuaries, which were hidden away from daylight and accessible only to those who knew the way.
Related Figures
Gaston Berthoumeyrou — découvreur de la grotte en 1895 lors de travaux de déblaiementÉmile Rivière — préhistorien, premier scientifique à étudier et publier les découvertes de la Mouthe (1895-1896)Abbé Henri Breuil — figure majeure de la préhistoire française, auteur des relevés de référence des peinturesÉmile Cartailhac — préhistorien qui, après avoir douté de l'authenticité de l'art pariétal, publia son célèbre 'Mea culpa' en 1902, en partie grâce à la MoutheÉlie Massénat — géologue et préhistorien périgourdin ayant participé aux premières investigations du site
