La Micoque

Useful Information

Location:	17 Chem. de la Micoque, 24620 Les Eyzies. From Le Eyzies-de-Tayac D47 towards Périgeux 2.8 km, turn right towards Navarre, after 300 m turn right on Chemin du la Micoque, single lane gravel road 400 m, keep left 150 m. The site is 5 minutes hike uphill. (44.9577924, 1.0078762)
Open:	All year Tue 14:30. Online booking mandatory. [2024]
Fee:	Adults EUR 9, Children (10-17) EUR 4. [2024]
Classification:	Karst Cave Typesite
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:
Guided tours:	D=90 min, MinAge=10.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:	C. Farizy (1988): La Micoque, Dictionnaire de la Préhistoire, ed A. Leroi-Gourhan. Presses universitaires de France, Paris 1988
Address:	Hall d'accueil de Font-de-Gaume, 4 avenue des Grottes, 24620 Les Eyzies-de-Tayac, Tel: +33-553-068600. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1895	archaeologic remains discovered by E. Rivière.
1896	excavated by Chauvet and Rivière.
1896	excavated by Capitan.
1897	excavated by Harlé.
1898	excavated by Peyrony.
1903-1905	excavated by Coutil.
1905	excavated by Cartailhac.
1906-1907	excavated by Hauser.
08-MAR-1922	declared a Monument Historique.
1929	purchased for the French government by Denis Peyrony.
1929-1932	excavated by Peyrony.
1956	excavated by Bordes.
1979	inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
1983-1996	excavated by Debénath and Rigaud.

Description

The "abri" La Micoque is actually not a cave, rock shelter or abri, although it is often called an abri. It is simply a resting place at the foot of a cliff, on an elevated terrace above the river. Nevertheless, we included this site as it is an important prehistoric site and type locale for the Micoquien and Tayacien. It was named after a nearby abandoned farm.

After early excavations, which were made rather unorganized and unsystematic, the site was purchased by the French Government. Between 1929 and 1932 the site was systematically excavated by Denis Peyrony, who was commisioned by the government. He made a detailed stratigraphic study and discriminated 15 layers of which six layers contained human remains. Layers four and five contained what Henri Breuil defined as Tayacien.