Des Merveilles Cave, Prehistoric cave with rock art in Rocamadour, France
Des Merveilles Cave is a natural limestone cavern in Rocamadour with stalactites and prehistoric rock drawings on its walls. The artworks feature horses, animals, and hand prints left by early artists.
The artworks in the cave were created roughly 23,000 years ago during the Paleolithic period and show early human artistic expression. These findings are important archaeological evidence of creative life and cultural development during that era.
The cave displays artworks created by early people and shows how long humans have inhabited this region. The wall paintings and hand prints reveal the creativity and daily life of past generations.
The entrance requires descending about 20 steps, but the internal pathways are mostly flat and allow comfortable exploration. Visits typically occur on guided tours where multilingual information is provided.
Many visitors do not notice that the hand prints may have been created using a special blowing technique rather than simply painted on. This technique revealed a sophistication in the artistic methods of that early period.
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