Marsoulas Cave

Marsoulas Cave is a prehistoric art site located in the southwestern Pyrenees, with gallery walls decorated with animal figures and geometric designs created long ago. The artwork spreads across multiple sections and showcases a variety of hand stencils and animal representations.

The site was discovered in 1883 and stands as one of the most important known locations for Magdalenian art in the region. Its significance in archaeology lies in showing how artistically skilled and culturally advanced people were during this distant period.

The cave displays artwork created by people of the Magdalenian period, who recorded their hunting successes and spiritual beliefs through images on the stone walls. These paintings offer insight into how ancient people saw themselves and their world.

The cave has been closed to visitors since 1996 to protect and preserve the ancient artwork from damage and deterioration. It is located in the Pyrenees region south of Toulouse, making it accessible only to those interested in viewing the site from the outside or through specialized documentation.

Excavations revealed an engraved shell dating to around 18,000 years ago, recognized as one of the oldest known musical instruments and demonstrating the artistic range of people at that time. This object proves that ancient people created not only images but also developed other forms of artistic expression.