Les Combarelles

Combarelles is about 3 km from Les Eyzies -de- Tayac- Sireuil in the French department of Dordogne Situated karst cave, were discovered in the numerous rock carvings from the Upper Palaeolithic. The cave is part of the perimeter of the Franco-Cantabrian cave art.

Location and description of the cave

The cave is located at the rear right end of Combarelles, a small left-hand tributary of the Grande Beune, about two kilometers off the left -side opening in the Vézère. The entrance to the cave is located in the immediate vicinity of a homestead. Combarelles still belongs to the municipality of Les Eyzies. The cave has a morphologically retiring marl bank within flat-lying limestones of the Upper Cretaceous ( Coniacian ) is formed.

The cave can be reached via the D 48 from Les Eyzies to Saint -Geniès, or via the D 47 from Sarlat to Les Eyzies.

Behind her entrance, the cave is divided into two courses. The left main gear, Combarelles I is about 300 meters long and usually only a meter wide. This narrow, sometimes quite low gear has 11 bends, where it can be widened. Its soil was later lowered to facilitate progress. Most engravings focus on the last 120 meters. The right, much shorter side passage is referred to as Combarelles II.

History of Research

First excavations were carried out 1891/1894 by E. Rivière in the entrance area of ​​the right cave passage ( Combarelles II). On September 8, 1901 Berniche discovered the first engravings ( Combarelles I) and immediately notified Henri Breuil and other experts. 1924 Combarelles I state ownership. Discovered in 1934 Pomarel, the son Berniches, the engravings in Combarelles II These will be published in 1952 by Breuil. In 1968, Jean -Philippe Rigeaud a rescue excavation at the entrance of the cave, as it should be rebuilt. He unearths a stone inventory, which confirms the use of the cave in the Middle Magdalenian. From 1978 studied Claude Barrière the engravings. Published in 1987 Archambeau two 14C dates, which confirmed the traditional dating of the finds inventory based on the lithic material and fauna. The monograph by Barrière in 1997 contains some newly discovered engravings that were not included in the old monograph.

Pictures

The attached pictures on the walls ( double parietal art ) are designed mainly as engravings. Black outline drawings are rare. Combarelles I contains the 800 engravings, mostly are representations of animals, but also some human figures are seen ( 48 ). The animal drawings, reindeer, ibex, mammoths, woolly rhinos, bears, big cats and wolves dar. Most commonly, however, the wild horses of which are present on the 140 illustrations, followed by bison, aurochs, bears, reindeer, mammoths and cervids. Human figures are usually depicted as a stylized and other illustrations from the Upper Magdalenian of Lalinde and Couze quite similar. Further noteworthy are the so-called tektiformen (from Latin tectum = roof ) or roof-shaped characters that occur in the nearby Magdalenian caves of Bernifal, Font de Gaume and - Rouffignac.

In Combarelles II engravings are available at the 30.

Tools

Immediately behind the entrance of the cave and stone artifacts were found.

Age

André Leroi - Gourhan, according to most of the pictures are classified into the Middle Magdalenian because of their style. A few are probably also to the Upper Magdalenian ( Magdalenian V and VI) and are comparable with engravings in Teyjat and Limeuil.

As an absolute age are two C -14 dating of 1973 studied section at the entrance of Combarelles I before, the following age were as follows: 11 730 BP and 9430 BP, ie Upper Magdalenian.

Cave Rey

At the entrance of Combarelles Valley is still another cave, the cave Rey. In her stone artifacts have been discovered from the Mousterian, the Solutrean and Magdalenian. According to Henri Breuil they allegedly contained very faint engravings.