Prehistoric sculpted rock shelters

Rock shelters

The rock shelters decorated and sculpted during the Palaeolithic period are an exception among decorated caves and rock art sites. The term refers more precisely to shelters dating to the Middle Magdalenian period, approximately 15,000 years ago, and feature monumental sculpted art composed of large-scale representations of animals and humans, some life-size, and surprisingly realistic. This cave art is very different from that of decorated caves like Chauvet and Lascaux, where sculpture is almost entirely absent. These sculpted shelters are unusual because of the context of the works: they are the only sites where cave art and habitats exist together, unlike decorated caves, considered as sanctuaries.

The Roc-aux-Sorciers (Angles-sur-l'Anglin)

Fewer than ten sculpted rock shelters have been identified in Europe for this period. The Roc-aux-Sorciers in Angles-sur-l’Anglin (Vienne), one of the most beautiful villages in France, has been called the “Lascaux of sculpture", as one of the most impressive examples of its kind.

Research

Recent work has highlighted the particularly strong links, in terms of symbols and techniques, between several sites dating from the Middle Magdalenian in Poitou-Charentes and Dordogne. The website explores four typical sites that help shed light on this research:

• Roc-aux-Sorciers, Angles-sur-l’Anglin, Vienne
• La Chaire-à-Calvin, Mouthiers-sur-Boëme, Charente
• L’abri Reverdit, Sergeac, Dordogne
• Cap Blanc, Marquay, Dordogne

Each of these four sites is explored in an original multimedia presentation that reveals the quality of their monumental sculpted art and provides an opportunity to appreciate their palaeolithic context by including the original illustrations