Rarely seen cave art holds prehistoric secrets

PARIS

Deep inside a labyrinthine cave in southwestern France, ancient humans who lived around 30,000 years ago carved horses, mammoths and rhinoceros into the walls, a fabulous prehistoric menagerie that has rarely been seen until now.

Discovered in 2000 by an amateur cave explorer, the Grotte de Cussac in the Dordogne department holds ancient human remains, traces of long-extinct bears and stunning, fragile artworks its custodians go to great lengths to preserve.

Typically, the French authorities restrict access to the cave to researchers, who are only allowed to enter it four weeks per year.

But a team of AFP journalists was recently allowed to visit the cave for the first time, accompanied by scientists working to unravel its mysteries.

After unlocking the metal grate that blocks the entrance, the group put on white protective overclothes, head coverings and gloves, then disinfected the soles of their boots.

Authorities are anxious to avoid a repeat of the damage done to France's famed Lascaux caves by microorganisms brought in by visitors.

The Lascaux caves, which are also located in Dordogne, though their artworks are estimated to be thousands of years younger than the Cussac carvings, were closed to the public in 1963 to save their precious frescoes.

The Cussac cave is accessed by a narrow passage through boulders that have closed off its inner chambers for thousands of years.

Lighting the way with headlamps, visitors cross vast chambers of stalactites and stalagmites, following the same narrow path as Marc Delluc, the late amateur speleologist who discovered the cave in September 2000.

The 1.6-kilometer cave has more than 1,000 carved figures, both animals and stylized feminine forms.

Scientists have dated them to between 26,000 and 35,000 years ago, the time of the ancient Gravettian culture in Europe.

"The Grotte de Cussac is exceptional for its well-preserved state. It was probably closed off very soon after it was occupied, which protected the soil and vestiges inside," said Emeline Deneuve, chief heritage conservationist for the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region's cultural affairs department.

Claw marks and signs of burrowing show it was also used by cave bears, prehistoric relatives of the brown bear.

Inside their hibernation chambers, researchers have found the remains of six human bodies, dating to the same period as the engravings.

It is the only known example of a cave used by prehistoric humans for both burials and artworks, said the site's lead archaeologist, Jacques Jaubert.

The site was a "sanctuary", not a dwelling, he said. "The group lived outside, in the open or in shelters under the rocks."