First published: 24/03/14.

Clyde 3.0

Vézère Valley

Vézère Valley (Inscribed)

Vézère Valley by Clyde

I visited this great WHS in March 2014. I drove to the Vézère Valley early in the morning. There are prehistoric sites scattered all over the valley but most are either not open to the general public or else it is only possible to visit with a tour guide available only 2-4 times a day (especially in the low season, i.e. NOT June to August). After a lot of research over the internet, I decided to head first to Les-Eyzies-de-Tyack to visit the National Museum of Prehistory. This gave me a general overview and good insights on what to look out for and why these sites are so unique and important. Afterwards, I proceeded to Roc de Cazelle which turned out to be nothing more than caves with artificial scenes attempting to depict how prehistoric everyday life must have been in these caves. All in all it's not worth the effort and time to get there unless you travel with children. Next I visited Font-de-Gaume Decorated Cave which I had prebooked directly by email to fontdegaume@monuments-nationaux.fr. There is quite a hike to visit these caves which are high in the cliffs so my trekking shoes came in handy. The guided visit was 1 hour long. This cave contains around 180 paintings of animals, mainly bison and reindeer with different shades of black, red, brown and yellow. Since the cave has never been completely closed, the quality of the drawings is fading, even though only 200 visitors per day are allowed. After my visit, I asked the guide where I could visit to view some prehistoric etchings which are also mentioned in this inscription. The guide suggested a quick visit to both Les Combarelles Caves to view the prehistoric etchings of felines, stags and Rouffignac Cave which is mostly famous for the outline of a mammoth and which is definitely the site to visit if you only have time for only of these two. That was quite a good morning starter, so I headed towards quaint Montignac where I stopped for lunch. In the afternoon I drove to the entrance of the original Lascaux Cave which is now closed to the general public but there I found a UNESCO plaque depicting its inscription. It is only 200 metres uphill from the visitor centre of Lascaux II. Lascaux Cave contains some of the best-known Upper Paleolithic art estimated to be 17,300 years old. Discovered in 1940, the cave complex was opened to the public in 1948, but by 1955 the carbon dioxide exhaled by 1200 visitors per day had visibly damaged the paintings and the cave was closed to the public in 1963 in order to preserve the prehistoric art and restore it to its original state. Yet this turned this incredible site into a monitored and closed laboratory, with experts involved to fight against the fungi, black mold, green mold and preserve the pigments. Lascaux II, a replica of two of the cave halls (the Great Hall of the Bulls and the Painted Gallery) was opened in 1983, 200 meters from the original. It's truly a work of art and a replica not only of the prehistoric paintings but also the cave structure, lighting, climate, etc. The main difference is that the replica paintings are on a different surface when compared to the original and therefore should not be attacked by fungi or mold. The guided visit was only available in French since I went in the low season but the guide spoke slowly and described every single outline and drawing using a torch to indicate the painting she was describing. The painted gallery is really mind-boggling and is best viewed sitting or crouching down in the middle of the replica cave. That way I could really appreciate the great detail and point of view our prehistoric ancestors were capable of rendering. Although photography (even without flash) and filming is not allowed in all the sites I visited in the Vézère Valley, I still took my camera with me to try my luck in the main plate of my visit near Montignac, which definitely deserves to be inscribed for its OUV. Since I was the last one to try to exit from the replica cave and had to wait with the guide for a couple of minutes for the heavy rain to stop before exiting the cave, and after answering all my questions in detail, my guide asked me where I came from. I replied that I'm from Malta and after hinting at where that is on the globe, I tried my luck and asked her if it was possible to take a quick photo (without flash) of the cave to treasure when I return to my distant homeland. I was surprised that it worked and before she could think twice, I took some photos in quick succession in 2-3 seconds. I wasn't expecting much out of my attempt, but I was pleasantly surprised when I checked out my photos on my computer and I must say I'm more than happy :) The overall experience was very rewarding although quite expensive and to me it's one of the best WHS in France.

Comments

No comments yet.

Log in to post a comment