Chaffaud cave

The Chaffaud Caves form a group of four caves cut into a limestone cliff above the right bank of the Charente river, in the commune of Savigné, in the Vienne department of France, close to the town of Civray. Long before prehistory became a recognized science, this modest cliffside in Poitou yielded one of the objects that changed how Europeans understood their own deep past.

What was found inside the caves?

In the 1830s, a notary from Charroux named André Brouillet began digging on his own land at Chaffaud. In 1834 he uncovered a reindeer bone engraved with two hinds walking one behind the other. The carving is remarkably fine for an object roughly 13,000 years old: the ears, the almond-shaped eye picked out with delicate hatching, and the muzzle are all rendered with real precision. Known today as the "Hinds of Chaffaud," the bone measures 132 mm long and 37 mm high.

Why does this discovery matter?

For years the engraving was dismissed as the work of the Gauls. It was the writer and historic-monuments inspector Prosper Mérimée who first grasped its true age. In 1853 he made a drawing of the piece and sent it to the Danish antiquarian Jens Worsaae. The Hinds of Chaffaud are now regarded as the earliest piece of Palaeolithic portable art whose prehistoric origin was scientifically confirmed, predating the recognition of many later and better-known finds. The original bone is kept today at the Musée d'Archéologie nationale in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris.

What else did archaeologists uncover here?

The four caves at Chaffaud have produced a substantial body of material: worked flint tools, harpoons, needles, and further examples of mobiliary art. The earliest traces of human presence date to the Middle Magdalenian, with the last occupation of the site belonging to the Final Magdalenian — the closing phase of the Upper Palaeolithic, when hunter-gatherers followed reindeer herds along the Charente valley.

What can visitors see today?

The site is open to the public free of charge. An interpretation trail follows the course of the Charente and explains the daily life of the people who once lived here, and a picnic area and coach parking are available on site. One part of the complex, known as the "intermediate cave," is currently closed to visitors: blocks of limestone have been detaching from the cliff face, and access is suspended until safety work is completed.

FAQ

Where exactly are the Chaffaud caves located? In the commune of Savigné, Vienne department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, near the villages of Périgné and Civray, on the bank of the Charente river.

What is the most famous find from the caves? An engraved reindeer bone showing two hinds, known as the Hinds of Chaffaud, dated to around 13,000 years ago. Flint tools, harpoons and needles from the Magdalenian period have also been recovered here.

Can the caves be visited? Yes, entry is free, and the site includes an interpretation trail and a picnic area. One of the four caves, the intermediate cave, is temporarily closed for safety reasons.

Where is the original engraved bone kept? The Hinds of Chaffaud bone is held at the Musée d'Archéologie nationale in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris; the caves themselves in Savigné can still be visited on site.