Labastide Cave

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CONTENTS

• Summary
• Location
• Discovery and Excavation
• Layout
• Human Occupation
• Cave Art at Labastide
• Abstract Signs
• Archeoacoustics
• References

Summary

The Labastide Cave complex consists of three paleolithic caves, in the foothills of the French Pyrénées.

The main cave is known as the Grotte des Chevaux (Horses Cave) - or simply 'Labastide Cave'. This is associated with Magdalenian culture and contains cave paintings - notably a large panel of polychrome horses - as well as numerous rock engravings.

Neither of the other two subsidiary caves in the complex - the Porche de la Perte, and the Grotte Blanche - are decorated.

Recently, researchers have discovered significant archaeoacoustic effects in certain parts of the cave.

Labastide was classified as a historic monument of France on August 3, 1983.

Location

The Labastide Cave is located less than a kilometre west of the village of Labastide, south of Lannemezan, in the Hautes-Pyrénées department of France.

It is set in a massif of limestone hills, at an altitude of about 750 metres.

Other caves in the area, which date back to the Stone Age, include Gargas Cave (occupied 25,000 BC) near Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges, and Noisetier Cave (48,000 BC) near Fréchet-Aure.

To the east, in the Haut-Garonne and Ariège, are several other important caves, including: Aurignac Cave (35,000 BC), Marsoulas Cave (16,000 BC), Bedeilhac Cave (14,000 BC), and Les Trois Frères (13,000 BC).

To the west we find Gatzarria Cave (45,000 BC), near Ossas-Suhare, and the Caves of Isturitz, Oxocelhaya, Erberua (occupied from 80,000 BC) near Hasparren in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques.

Discovery and Excavation

Labastide was known to locals and explored from the late 19th century onwards, in particular by the noted French speleologist Armand Viré (1869-1951).

The first parietal art was discovered there in 1932 by archaeologist Norbert Casteret, who carried out the initial excavation of the site.

He was followed by a number of other prehistorians, including Henri Begouën (1863-1956), Georges Simonnet, and André Glory (1906-1966).

Layout

Labastide Cave (Horses Cave) opens at the foot of a large cliff, amidst a pile of scree.

The cave extends for roughly 500 metres. About 190 metres from the entrance, a passageway opens to the right of the main gallery.

This subsidiary gallery, noted for its engraved petroglyphs, runs for about 10 metres before ending in a well.

Human Occupation

Labastide was occupied by modern humans from the beginning of the Magdalenian around 15,000 BC.

The archaeology shows this occupation continued into the Azilian culture - Mas-d'Azil Cave (10,500 BC), the type-site, is about 90 kilometres away in the Ariège.

In addition, fragments of ancient pottery have been found dating to the era of Bronze Age culture and even as late as the Iron Age.

Cave Art at Labastide

The most famous hunter-gatherer art at Labastide is the panel of multi-coloured horses, found in the main gallery. It is dated to around 12,300 BC.

Although notable, it is not as memorable as the famous panel of horses at Ekain Cave (12,000 BC), situated further west in the Basque region of Spain.

In addition, the cave contains numerous other paintings and engravings, depicting more horses and bison as well as lions, ibex and reindeer, as well as the head of a feline, and a human figure.

The site also yielded a number of plaques engraved with animal images.

Abstract Signs

Labastide's collection of paleolithic art also includes a very wide variety of abstract signs and symbols, which remain undeciphered.

They include: aviforms (bird shapes), claviforms (key-shapes), crosshatch signs (hashtag), cruciforms (cross-shaped), dots, flabelliforms (fan-shaped), line signs (linear), open angles (horizontal V-sign), penniforms (feather-shaped) and triangles (geometric).

Archeoacoustics

Several archaeoacoustic studies have demonstrated that certain spots in the cave that contain images of painted animals, also possess an unusually high resonance effect - where a sound emitted in one place echoes elsewhere.

Curiously, these spots of high resonance are nearly always marked by red dot signs. This implies that sound was used in connection with the art at these locations - either voice, or perhaps music.

Similar effects have also been found at Niaux Cave (13,000 BC) and at Le Portel Cave (12,500 BC), both in the nearby department of the Ariège.

References

(1) André Glory, Robert Simonnet, Georges Simonnet. 'A Magdalenian cache of large flint blades in the Hautes-Pyrénées (Labastide cave).' Bulletin of the Prehistoric Society of France (1947), nos 5-6, p. 174-178.
(2) Jacques Omnès. 'The Magdalenian sanctuary of the Labastide cave.' (1984) no 36, p.19-26.
(3) Robert Simmonet, Jean Barragué. 'Recent research in the Labastide cave (Haute-Pyrénées)'. Les Dossiers d’archéologie (2007), no 324, p. 62-67.
(4) Armand Viré. 'The underground Pyrenees (1st campaign, 1897) (The Caves of Bétharram, Escalère, Labastide, etc.)'. Memoirs of the Speleology Society (1898), vol 3, no 14, p. 59-96.