La Marche (cave) - History

History

The La Marche cave paintings were discovered in the caves in the Lussac-les-Châteaux area of France by Léon Péricard in November 1937. Péricard, and his partner Stephane Lwoff, studied these caves for five years, and found etchings on over 1,500 slabs. In 1938, they presented their discovery to the French Prehistoric Society, and published them in the Society's Bulletin. However, many people questioned the validity of these findings because the paintings closely resembled modern art. Also, in the lectures that Lwoff gave about the caves, he gave his audience false information, thus discrediting the findings even more. The caves were studied again in 1938 and 1939 by the French priest Henri Breuil. Breuil’s results were similar to Péricard’s findings, and therefore more people believed the authenticity of the paintings. After this, La Marche was not studied until recently.

In 2002, Péricard’s findings were reevaluated by Dr. Michael Rappenglueck of Munich University. He believes that Péricard’s findings are valid and has initiated a more thorough study of the caves. He also states that a large portion of the paintings were lost during Péricard's excavations: in his attempt to examine the walls, Péricard completely ignored the cave floors that possibly displayed even more paintings and etchings, destroying many of these in the process. Dr. Rappenglueck suggests that a detailed study of the cave floors may bring to light pieces of the puzzle advancing the credibility of Péricard’s original discovery.