Grotte du Pape (grottes préhistoriques du Pouy)

Brassempouy

Located around 3 km south-west of the village of Brassempouy, this network of cavities carved into the Pouy hill has yielded major archaeological discoveries since the late 19th century. It was here that Joseph de Laporterie and Édouard Piette uncovered, in 1894, the 'Dame de Brassempouy', a female head carved from mammoth ivory dated to the Middle Gravettian, around 25,000 years ago, one of the oldest known realistic depictions of a human face. The site saw successive occupations through the Upper Palaeolithic, from the Early Aurignacian to the Magdalenian. It is a listed historic monument. The original piece is now held at the Musée d'archéologie nationale in Saint-Germain-en-Laye; a facsimile and an interpretation centre can be seen on site at the Préhistosite.

Getting there : Access by reservation only, guided tour from the Préhistosite de Brassempouy (open to the public since April 2023, Tuesday-Sunday, 1.45pm-6pm from February to November)

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound