In 1940, A Dog Investigated A Hole In A Tree And Discovered A Vast Cave Filled With Ancient Human Artwork

[Judi Lynn]

PUBLISHED
Yesterday
23


The artwork is thought to be over 17,000 years old.

James Felton
Senior Staff Writer

James is a published author with multiple pop-history and science books to his name. He specializes in history, space, strange science, and anything out of the ordinary.View full profile

Edited
by
Laura Simmons

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A cave this large would have been easier to find than Lascaux.
Image credit: Miriana Stumpf Linck/Shutterstock.com


On September 12, 1940, a dog in France made one of the most exciting archaeological discoveries of the 20th century.

Marcel Ravidat, an 18-year-old student, was exploring the woods in Montignac in Dordogne, southern France, when his dog named Robot began investigating a small hole next to an uprooted tree. According to some retellings of the tale, the dog was chasing after a rabbit when it made what turned out to be quite an important discovery.

Ravidat was aware of a local legend that there was a secret underground tunnel somewhere in the hill, which would lead to a local mansion: Lascaux Manor. In other versions of the legend, which is likely merely a myth, the tunnel would lead to a grotto filled with treasure. Either way, he tried to investigate the tunnel alone that day, before abandoning the attempt due to a lack of tools for the job.

A few days later he returned with three friends from his village – Jacques Marsal, Georges Agnel, and Simon Coencas – and the four of them enlarged the hole until it was big enough for them to fit through. Ravidat crawled into the hole first, before his three companions joined him shortly afterwards, finding themselves not in a secret passageway, but a cave that had not been opened in thousands of years.

"By the light of a hastily constructed lamp, they walked along a gallery some thirty metres long. As the passageway narrowed, they spied the first paintings in what is now known as the Axial Gallery," the National Archaeological Museum in France explains. "They explored every part of the cave, whose walls were covered in a fabulous bestiary, finally coming to halt before a black hole that led downwards to other parts of the cave."

More:
https://www.iflscience.com/in-1940-a-dog-investigated-a-hole-in-a-tree-and-discovered-a-vast-cave-filled-with-ancient-human-artwork-81986

[twodogsbarking]

1. We had a dog that found half a pizza. Wasn't even cut.

[Bohunk68]

2. Great stuff.

I live in Schoharie County in Upstate NY, near Cobleskill, and the Howe Caverns are just down the road a piece. Our local Historical Society had the author of "Underground Empires", Dana Cudmore to give us a talk. Fascinating. Bought his book about it. I had known that there was a lot of caverns through the limestone rock when I moved here. Went to the current ones as well on a tour. What surprised me was that they are the third largest in the US. Some of it was lost over time to the cement factory which turned out a high-grade product. His book is fascinating because of all the shenanigans attached to the caves. Thanks for this article. But then, I always read your posts.

[70sEraVet]

3. Fascinating, Judi!

Thanks!