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 The Abri of Laugerie Basse | |
  The Abri of Laugerie Basse Location in France Show map of Aquitaine The Abri of Laugerie Basse The Abri of Laugerie Basse (France) Show map of France | |
| Location | nearEyzies-de-Tayac, |
|---|---|
| Region | Dordogne,France |
| Coordinates | 44°34′13″N0°35′44″E / 44.57028°N 0.59556°E /44.57028; 0.59556 |
| History | |
| Cultures | Magdalenian |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1901, |
| Archaeologists | Denis Peyrony |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | i, iii |
| Designated | 1979(3rdsession) |
| Part of | Prehistoric Sites and Decorated Caves of the Vézère Valley |
| Reference no. | 85 |
Laugerie-Basse is an importantUpper Paleolithic archaeological site within the territory of theFrench communeLes Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil inDordogne. It is known for several works of art from theMagdalenian. In 1979, Laugerie-Basse, along with other nearbyPaleolithic sites, was inscribed on theUNESCOWorld Heritage List asPrehistoric Sites and Decorated Caves of the Vézère Valley.[1]
The impressiveabri of Laugerie-Basse, named after the village, is located on the right side of theVézère valley, about 2 kilometers upstream from Les Eyzies. It was formed at the bottom of a 45 meters high and 500 meters longscarp slope of flat-lyinglimestones from theConiacian. The 15-meter-deep Abri is located 15 meters above river level. Taking advantage of the natural conditions, the houses of Laugerie-Basse were built directly into the rocks so that building a back wall and the back half of the roof was dispensable.
The prehistoric site consists of two abris: themain abri and 50 meters upstream theAbri of Marseilles.
Between the abris and the Vézère the D 47 runs fromPérigueux to Les Eyzies.
In 1863Édouard Lartet andHenry Christy began for the first time with excavations on the main abri. At that time a small farm with a barn and a stable was standing on the excavation area. Lartet and Christy were succeeded by theMarquis de Vibraye and his assistant Franchet and shortly thereafter by Massénat. The excavations on the main abri were rather chaotic for the next five decades. Only between 1912 and 1913Denis Peyrony and Maury were able to proceed more systematically and make the firststratigraphy of the main abri. Maury then moved on to the hitherto disregarded Abri des Marseilles where he was active until 1920.
The stratigraphy in the main abri comprises archaeological material mainly from Magdalenian III and Magdalenian IV. There is also some marginal evidence of theAzilian. In the slope waste in front of the scarp slope remains from theNeolithic and the lateBronze Age were also discovered.
The Abri de Marseilles offers a more detailed stratigraphic sequence: the original profile is still existing. From it one can conclude that the Magdalenians settled approximately 14,000 years ago directly on the existing bottom of the abri. They lived at the abri until the Magdalenian VI. Then a catastrophiccollapse of the roof occurred and the settlement site was partly strewn with some huge slabs of rock and debris. Afterwards the people returned to this place, which is clearly evident from traces of settlement on and between the boulders. Thereafter the Abri des Marseilles sank completely into oblivion until the late Neolithic . Around 2000 BC members of the Artenac culture arrived who left an enormous, and in this magnitude inexplicable, ash and charcoal layer that covered the whole abri. Further slides of the roof later occurred bringing about a spectacular collapse with up to 10 meter high boulders.
By now the main abri has been cleaned up completely, whereas the Abri des Marseilles has only been partially explored.
Apart from stoneartefacts and other tools, all in all approximately 600 art objects from the Magdalenian were recovered in Laugerie-Basse. In Laugerie-BassePaul Hurault, 8th Marquis de Vibraye discovered in 1864 the "Immodest Venus" (French:Vénus impudique) which gave its name to the genre of PaleolithicVenus figurines.[2] Shortly after that, around 1867-68, theWoman under the reindeer (la femme au renne) was discovered by Abbé Landesque. Many of these early art pieces are now scattered in museums all over the world. Pierced bone rondels picturingchamoises anddeer have been discovered from the middle Magdalenian (stage IV).
The main abri was inhabited in the middle and upper Magdalenian as well as in the Azilian, which roughly corresponds to the time segment from 14,000 until 10,000 yearsBP.[3]
The Abri des Marseilles has had a longer settlement period, it had been inhabited during the entire Magdalenian and into the Neolithic which corresponds to the time segment from 17,000 until 7,000 years BP.
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