Vézère Valley

The Vézère Valley is known for its prehistoric cave systems, containing numerous cave paintings and hominid remains. They are found in the valley of the Vézère river between the communes of Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil and Montignac in the Dordogne department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine region.

Prehistoric Sites and Decorated Caves of the Vézère Valley

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Vézère at La Madeleine site
Includes	Abri de Cro-Magnon Abri du Poisson [fr] Font de Gaume La Micoque La Mouthe [fr] Laugerie basse Laugerie haute [fr] Le Grand Roc [fr] Les Combarelles Le Cap Blanc Lascaux Cro de Granville (cro de Rouffignac) Roc de Saint-Cirq [fr] Le Moustier La Madeleine
Criteria	Cultural: (i)(iii)
Reference	85
Inscription	1979 (3rd Session)

UNESCO designated the systems as a World Heritage Site in 1979. Among the archaeological sites with remarkable caves is Lascaux.

Inscription as a heritage site

UNESCO description is:^[1]

"The Vézère valley contains 147 prehistoric sites dating from the Palaeolithic and 25 decorated caves. It is particularly interesting from an ethnological and anthropological, as well as an aesthetic point of view because of its cave paintings, especially those of the Lascaux Cave, whose discovery in 1940 was of great importance for the history of prehistoric art. The hunting scenes show some 100 animal figures, which are remarkable for their detail, rich colours and lifelike quality".

List of the main sites named by the UNESCO

Code	Name	Coordinates	Commune
85-001	Shelter of the Cro-Magnon	44°56′25.6″N 1°00′34.6″E	Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil
85-002	Shelter of the Fish	44°56′38.8″N 0°59′54.2″E
85-003	Font-de-Gaume Cave	44°56′13.2″N 1°01′35.6″E
85-004	La Micoque	44°57′27.6″N 1°00′23.5″E
85-005	La Mouthe Cave	44°55′28.9″N 1°01′14.1″E
85-006	Laugerie-Basse	44°57′03.8″N 0°59′57.5″E
85-007	Laugerie-Haute	44°57′11.8″N 1°00′12.3″E
85-008	Le Grand Roc Cave	44°56′58.2″N 0°59′54.0″E
85-009	Les Combarelles Cave	44°56′36.8″N 1°02′31.6″E
85-010	Cap-Blanc Shelter	44°56′44.3″N 1°05′50.6″E	Marquay (on the Vézère)
85-011	Lascaux Cave	45°03′13.3″N 1°10′12.0″E	Montignac (on the Vézère)
85-012	Rouffignac Cave or Cro-de-Granville or Miremont Cave	45°00′31.7″N 0°59′15.5″E	Rouffignac-Saint-Cernin-de-Reilhac
85-013	Roc de Saint-Cirq Cave	44°55′33.9″N 0°58′02.9″E	Saint-Cirq
85-014	Le Moustier (2 shelters)	44°59′39.6″N 1°03′35.5″E	Saint-Léon-sur-Vézère and Peyzac-le-Moustier
85-015	La Madeleine Shelter	44°58′01.3″N 1°02′11.1″E	Tursac

Gallery

• 
  Lascaux, replica in the Brno museum Anthropos.
• 
  Entrance of the Roc de Saint-Cirq cave.
• 
  Shelter of the Cro-Magnon.
• 
  Le Grand Roc Cave

Related pages

• Lascaux
• Vézère