Castel Merle
Castel Merle (also known as Castel-Merle or Castelmerle) is a complex of 12 prehistoric rock shelters (or abris as they are known in French) in Sergeac, in the Dordogne region of France. It is close to the Lascaux rock art caves and is situated in the region which forms the Unesco World Heritage site Prehistoric Sites and Decorated Caves of the Vézère Valley, but is not officially a part of it. The finds in the shelters date to the Mousterian and Magdalenian periods, or between 160,000 and 12,000 years ago. The most important of the 12 shelters is the Reverdit rockshelter.
Location
Between Lascaux and Les Eyzies, in the heartland of the prehistoric rock caves and shelters of the Vézère valley, lies a small tributary valley, the Vallon des Roches. The small river runs for some 300 metres between two rock faces, and on each side 6 rock shelters have been found and prehistoric remains unearthed during excavations. The shelters on the left side of the river are open to the public, and the plain inbetween the rocks houses a small museum.[1]
Main shelters
Reverdit
The Reverdit rockshelter, previously used as a shepherd's hut, was first excavated in 1875 by Alain Reverdit. A more scientific excavation was done between 1911 and 1914 by F. Delage, finding two layers dating to the Magdalenian. In 1923 Castanet found damaged sculpted friezes on the ceiling, displaying a horse and some bisons.[1]
Roc de l'acier
In this shelter, artifacts have been found from the Périgordian period (35,000 to 20,000 years ago), and earlier occupation from the Aurignacian seems likely here as well.[1]
Labattut
This shelter was excavated in 1912 and 1913 by Castanet. Most remains are from the Périgordian and the more recent Solutrean times. Rocks which were originally part of the back wall of the shelter, but which afterwards have fallen down, showed paintings of a hand and of three animals; a mammoth and a deer painted in black, and a bison in black against a red background. These rocks are now in the National Prehistoric Museum in Les Eyzies. Another rock showed a large engraving of a horse, and is now kept in the American Museum of Natural History.[1]
La Souquette
This shelter is 16 metres wide and 5 metres deep. It has been used in the Middle Ages as a shelter as well, and shows remains of the habitation at that time. The prehistoric finds were excavated first in the early 20th century by abbe Landesque, and date to the Aurignacian and the Magdalenian. Here were found different necklaces, consisting of pearls in ivory, bone, and teeth. Another find was a rock with an engraved bison.[1]