Skull Chamber

Following the Hillaire Chamber, from which it is separated by a curtain of old stalagmites, this vast and almost circular chamber forms a kind of amphitheatre. The skull of a cave bear set on a rocky block in the centre gives the chamber its name. Several dozen other skulls are present around this arrangement. Their numerical density is much higher than elsewhere in the cave, thus leading to the hypothesis of intentional collection and concentration of skulls in this chamber. All of this suggests the important role that this arrangement played for prehistoric people. In fact, not one but 53 skulls, including that of a brown bear (Ursus arctos), have been inventoried in this chamber, which is also rich in other remains: bones, bear and canidae footprints, coprolites, etc.