The Sorcerer’s cave in Saint-Cirq-du-Bugue (Dordogne, France): new readings. Report of the 2010 and 2011 campaigns

Two main reasons have led us to start again the study of the Sorcerer’s cave in Saint-Cirq-du-Bugue (Dordogne): first of all the real progress existing in recent years in the means available for the study of prehistoric parietal art, which had not been applied to the site; and secondly the discovery of vandalism on some of the art, which needed to be assessed precisely. The new campaign of tracings, as well as the attention given to understanding the making of the engravings in connection with the underground relief shapes allowed a better apprehension of the artists’ environment at the time of the making of the works of art, together with a more precise idea of the gestures and techniques used. Furthermore, during our first campaign in the autumn 2010, we were able to carry out a full topographic coverage of the cave associated with a precise sizing of all the engravings, in view of the future making of a digital site model. On most of the engravings studied up to date, it was possible to precise some of the ancient lines, to identify the position of the modern lines and to record the effects of the degradation agents associated to a rock support that is especially fragile in places. The main figure of the cave, the human ithyphallic figure, was newly interpreted (especially its head), which allowed us to underline the engraving of an equine whose back leg is partially superimposed to the engraving of the Sorcerer’s sex. The new engraving of a horse, up to date unnoticed, was also discovered. Finally, in the course of our investigations, it appeared essential to study the whole of the engravings as belonging to one composition stretched around a large fissure on the vault ‒ showing how important the natural shapes of the rock surfaces are in the organisation of the representations ‒ as well as to rethink the making of the decoration as the superimposition of drawings from different time periods

La grotte du sorcier à Saint-Cirq-du-Bugue (Dordogne, France) : nouvelles lectures. Bilan des campagnes 2010 et 2011

Les progrès réalisés ces dernières années dans les moyens mis à disposition pour étudier l’art pariétal préhistorique, ainsi que l’amer constat d’actes de vandalisme opérés sur certaines gravures de la grotte du Sorcier à Saint-Cirq-du-Bugue (Dordogne), nous ont conduits à reprendre l’étude de ce site majeur de l’art aquitain des populations de chasseurs-collecteurs. Cette nouvelle campagne de relevés, ainsi que l’attachement à comprendre l’exécution des gravures en lien avec les formes de relief souterrain, nous permettent de mieux appréhender l’environnement physique de la grotte au moment de la réalisation des œuvres, tout en nous faisant une idée plus précise des gestes et des techniques employés. Par ailleurs, nous avons pu réaliser lors de la première campagne, menée à l’automne 2010, la couverture topographique complète de la cavité associée à la cotation précise de l’ensemble des représentations, en vue de la réalisation future d’un modèle numérique de terrain.Sur la plupart des gravures réexaminées jusqu’alors, il nous a été possible de préciser certains tracés anciens, d’identifier la position des ajouts modernes et de constater les effets des altéragènes, associés à un support rocheux par endroits particulièrement vulnérable. La figure maîtresse de la grotte, cette représentation humaine ithyphallique, a fait l’objet d’une nouvelle lecture (notamment de la tête), qui a mis en évidence la gravure d’un équidé dont l’une des jambes arrière se superpose pour partie avec le tracé du sexe du « Sorcier ». Une nouvelle gravure figurant un équidé, jusque-là passée inaperçue, a également été découverte. Enfin, au fur et à mesure de nos investigations, il nous est apparu essentiel d’étudier l’ensemble des gravures comme appartenant à une composition se développant autour d’une large fissure présente à la voûte – signe de l’importance des formes naturelles des parois dans l’articulation des représentations –, ainsi que de repenser la constitution de son décor comme la superposition de tracés de différentes époques.Recent-years progress in the means available for the study of prehistoric parietal art as well as the bitter acknowledgement of vandalism on some engravings of the Sorcerer’s cave in Saint-Cirq-du-Bugue (Dordogne) led us to start again the study of this major site for the art of the hunters-gatherers of Aquitaine. The new campaign of tracings, as well as the attention given to understanding the making of the engravings in connection with the underground relief shapes allowed a better apprehension of the artists’ environment at the time of the making of the works of art, together with a more precise idea of the gestures and techniques used. Furthermore, during our first campaign in the autumn 2010, we were able to carry out a full topographic coverage of the cave associated with a precise sizing of all the engravings, in view of the future making of a numeric site model. On most of the studied engravings up to date, it was possible to precise some of the ancient lines, to identify the position of the modern lines and to record the effects of the degradation agents associated to a rock support that is especially fragile in places. The main figure of the cave, the human ithyphallic figure, was read anew (especially its head) which allowed us underlining the engraving of an equine whose back leg is partly superimposed to the engraving of the Sorcerer’s sex. The new engraving of a horse, up to date unnoticed, was also discovered. Finally, in the course of our investigations, it appeared essential to us to study the whole of the engravings as belonging to one composition stretched around a large crack on the vault - showing how important the natural shapes of the rock surfaces are in the organisation of the representations - as well as to rethink the making of the decoration as the superimposition of lines from different time periods

The Sorcerer’s cave in Saint-Cirq-du-Bugue (Dordogne, France): new readings. Report of the 2010 and 2011 campaigns

Two main reasons have led us to start again the study of the Sorcerer’s cave in Saint-Cirq-du-Bugue (Dordogne): first of all the real progress existing in recent years in the means available for the study of prehistoric parietal art, which had not been applied to the site; and secondly the discovery of vandalism on some of the art, which needed to be assessed precisely. The new campaign of tracings, as well as the attention given to understanding the making of the engravings in connection with the underground relief shapes allowed a better apprehension of the artists’ environment at the time of the making of the works of art, together with a more precise idea of the gestures and techniques used. Furthermore, during our first campaign in the autumn 2010, we were able to carry out a full topographic coverage of the cave associated with a precise sizing of all the engravings, in view of the future making of a digital site model. On most of the engravings studied up to date, it was possible to precise some of the ancient lines, to identify the position of the modern lines and to record the effects of the degradation agents associated to a rock support that is especially fragile in places. The main figure of the cave, the human ithyphallic figure, was newly interpreted (especially its head), which allowed us to underline the engraving of an equine whose back leg is partially superimposed to the engraving of the Sorcerer’s sex. The new engraving of a horse, up to date unnoticed, was also discovered. Finally, in the course of our investigations, it appeared essential to study the whole of the engravings as belonging to one composition stretched around a large fissure on the vault ‒ showing how important the natural shapes of the rock surfaces are in the organisation of the representations ‒ as well as to rethink the making of the decoration as the superimposition of drawings from different time periods

La grotte du sorcier à Saint-Cirq-du-Bugue (Dordogne, France) : nouvelles lectures. Bilan des campagnes 2010 et 2011

Les progrès réalisés ces dernières années dans les moyens mis à disposition pour étudier l’art pariétal préhistorique, ainsi que l’amer constat d’actes de vandalisme opérés sur certaines gravures de la grotte du Sorcier à Saint-Cirq-du-Bugue (Dordogne), nous ont conduits à reprendre l’étude de ce site majeur de l’art aquitain des populations de chasseurs-collecteurs. Cette nouvelle campagne de relevés, ainsi que l’attachement à comprendre l’exécution des gravures en lien avec les formes de relief souterrain, nous permettent de mieux appréhender l’environnement physique de la grotte au moment de la réalisation des œuvres, tout en nous faisant une idée plus précise des gestes et des techniques employés. Par ailleurs, nous avons pu réaliser lors de la première campagne, menée à l’automne 2010, la couverture topographique complète de la cavité associée à la cotation précise de l’ensemble des représentations, en vue de la réalisation future d’un modèle numérique de terrain.Sur la plupart des gravures réexaminées jusqu’alors, il nous a été possible de préciser certains tracés anciens, d’identifier la position des ajouts modernes et de constater les effets des altéragènes, associés à un support rocheux par endroits particulièrement vulnérable. La figure maîtresse de la grotte, cette représentation humaine ithyphallique, a fait l’objet d’une nouvelle lecture (notamment de la tête), qui a mis en évidence la gravure d’un équidé dont l’une des jambes arrière se superpose pour partie avec le tracé du sexe du « Sorcier ». Une nouvelle gravure figurant un équidé, jusque-là passée inaperçue, a également été découverte. Enfin, au fur et à mesure de nos investigations, il nous est apparu essentiel d’étudier l’ensemble des gravures comme appartenant à une composition se développant autour d’une large fissure présente à la voûte – signe de l’importance des formes naturelles des parois dans l’articulation des représentations –, ainsi que de repenser la constitution de son décor comme la superposition de tracés de différentes époques.Recent-years progress in the means available for the study of prehistoric parietal art as well as the bitter acknowledgement of vandalism on some engravings of the Sorcerer’s cave in Saint-Cirq-du-Bugue (Dordogne) led us to start again the study of this major site for the art of the hunters-gatherers of Aquitaine. The new campaign of tracings, as well as the attention given to understanding the making of the engravings in connection with the underground relief shapes allowed a better apprehension of the artists’ environment at the time of the making of the works of art, together with a more precise idea of the gestures and techniques used. Furthermore, during our first campaign in the autumn 2010, we were able to carry out a full topographic coverage of the cave associated with a precise sizing of all the engravings, in view of the future making of a numeric site model. On most of the studied engravings up to date, it was possible to precise some of the ancient lines, to identify the position of the modern lines and to record the effects of the degradation agents associated to a rock support that is especially fragile in places. The main figure of the cave, the human ithyphallic figure, was read anew (especially its head) which allowed us underlining the engraving of an equine whose back leg is partly superimposed to the engraving of the Sorcerer’s sex. The new engraving of a horse, up to date unnoticed, was also discovered. Finally, in the course of our investigations, it appeared essential to us to study the whole of the engravings as belonging to one composition stretched around a large crack on the vault - showing how important the natural shapes of the rock surfaces are in the organisation of the representations - as well as to rethink the making of the decoration as the superimposition of lines from different time periods

Le site karstique de Saulges

National audienc

Sur un poisson gravé magdalénien de la grotte Margot (Thorigné-en-Charnie, Mayenne) [On a Magdalenian engraved fish in the Margot cave (Thorigne-en-Charnie, Mayenne, France)]

National audienceAn engraved fish that can be attributed to the final Magdalenian period was discovered in 2010 in the Margot cave (Thorigne-en-Charnie, Mayenne, France). It shows graphic details that allow us to propose some clues to taxonomic determination. It must be a freshwater fish; the hypothesis of a Cyprinidae such as a tench is acceptable, considering that the 3.1 layer of the nearby Rochefort cave, attributable to the Final Paleolithic, has yielded a branchial arch of another Cyprinidae (probably a chub or a dace). Fish is not a usual theme in Paleolithic wall art. Here it is associated with another engraved animal figure, which is not fully determinable (seal or other fish). (C) 2014 Academie des sciences. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved