“ I was indeed fascinated by Bara-Bahau cave; down there we discover decorated panels which undeniably give us a better insight into the very first phases in the history of art...”

L'abbé Breuil, le 15 août 1951. 		April 1951, all the prehistory buffs in the Périgord gathered at Bara-Bahau to greet speleologists Maud and Norbert Casteret.
1st row: M Coste and his daughter Cathy, M Darnige, Colonel Delfau, Séverin Blanc, Maud Casteret, M Beuve, Norbert Casteret, M Mouret and M Gontier.
2nd row: Mme Garrigue, Georges Laville, Mme Blanc, Elie Leymonerie, M Rouzier, Marceau Sourie, Mme Coste and M Boucher.
Formerly known as le Trou de la Cocagne, the entrance to this huge cave had long been a popular picnic spot.		 In 1951 Maud and Raoul Casteret were contacted by the president of the Tourist Office in Le Bugue. They were asked to thoroughly explore every inch of the cave and it was flat on her back that Maud caught a glimpse of the first engravings: a horse and then a cow with fine horns. She discovered sixteen animals in all.
In this photo, which illustrates the article, André Glory is standing beside the Countess of Saint-Perrier at the Museum of Prehistory in Brantôme

“… To understand Lascaux, first go and visit Bara-Bahau…”

Part of an interview with Abbé Glory for Périgord Magazine no. 3 (Nov. 1964). In this photo, which illustrates the article, André Glory is standing beside the Countess of Saint-Perrier at the Museum of Prehistory in Brantôme.
Alain Roussot and Abbé Glory at Lascaux in 1953.
Alain Roussot and Abbé Glory at Lascaux in 1953.
Before Bara-Bahau, Abbé Glory had become an expert at making tracings of all the artworks at Lascaux. He is photographed here next to Alain Roussot who later became the curator of the Musée d’Aquitaine.
Bara-Bahau frieze by Abbé Glory, 1955.
Bara-Bahau frieze by Abbé Glory, 1955.
From July to September 1955, night and day Abbé Glory made tracings of the engravings at Bara-Bahau using a sheet of Perspex. He enumerated around thirty different figures.
Périgord Magazine no. 3, Nov. 1964
Périgord Magazine no. 3, Nov. 1964
In the third number of Périgord Magazine the extraordinary Bara-Bahau cave, “the oldest cave in the world”, made front page news and was the subject of a five-page article by B. de Romefort.
Bara-Bahau cave, 50th anniversary of Maud, Raoul and Norbert Casteret’s discovery on April 1 1951.
Bara-Bahau cave opened to tourists on 18 May 1956. In 2001 they celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the discovery of the engravings by Maud and Norbert Casteret.
BARA-BAHAU decorated cave. 40,000 BP: the birth of art in Le Bugue su Vézère (Dordogne), France
In 1955 Abbé Glory revealed his first findings at Bara-Bahau. The document, « Caverne ornée de BARA-BAHAU. En l’an 40.000 naissait l’art. », is now unobtainable.
Visit the Chamber of Engravings at Bara-Bahau
On 20 April 1961 Bara-Bahau cave became a listed site - with the bear engraving as its symbol. You will also see horses, bisons, aurochs, ibexes, a reindeer, hands and – rarer still – a human phallus.
Article | Menu