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Grotte des Deux-Ouvertures

France · Europe

A line drawing, not a photograph of this site — generated artwork.

SpectacleSignificant

This text was written with AI. How this is made

Fine mammoth and bison engravings a few river bends downstream of Chauvet

At the downstream end of the Ardèche gorges, local cavers dug through to this cave's deep galleries in 1985 and found fine Palaeolithic engravings — mammoths, bison and at least two probable aurochs — beside rare red and black marks, one of them drawn in manganese. Charcoal sealed beneath a hardened floor layer returned ages of 28,000–29,000 BP, and cave bears left bones and polished walls from an earlier occupation. The cave is a protected historic monument, closed to the public.

Age
~28,000–29,000 yrs
Period
Upper Paleolithic
Setting
Cave
Art form
Petroglyphs
Discovered
1985
Status
Closed (Protected)

The art

Notable Features
  • Fine mammoth engravings
  • Striated bison in wall relief
  • Possible man–bovid composite figure
Depicted Subjects
MammothsBisonAurochs

How it was made

Fine-line engraving
Made with
Red ochreManganese black

How we know its age

Radiocarbon (AMS)Uranium-series on calcite

Rock art carries no signature and no date. These are the methods that put an age on this site. How these methods work

Plan a Visit

AccessClosed to the public.
Links
Hours & prices change — always confirm on the official site before travelling.

Sources

  1. 1.Grotte des Deux-OuverturesWikipedia

Further reading

Where to go next

⧗ See it on the timeline⌖ See it on the discovery timeline
Photographs via Wikimedia Commons — image credits. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.