“Oh my God” , I exclaimed. What a moment. What an impact. I could non believe my eyes. The Bison are incredibly beautiful , incredibly powerful , as well as immensely amount of Religious Purpose. The Cow is railroad train as well as the Bull is scenting the air. The deed of excogitation is well-nigh to endure fulfilled , as well as a novel Life is well-nigh to endure created. — John Robinson , for the Bradshaw Foundation.
The 3 teenage Bégouen brothers must accept felt the same when they stumbled upon the sublime sculptures of the bison spell exploring the Tuc d'Audoubert cave inwards southwest French Republic , inwards 1912. Radiocarbon dating tells us that the sculptures are fifteen ,000 years old.
The Tuc d'Audoubert cave is located inwards the commune of Montesquieu-Avantes inwards the Ariege division of the key Pyrenees , inwards southwest France. It is role of a network of subterranean passageways which is divided into 3 caves— the Tuc d'Audoubert cave inwards the west; the Trois Freres Cave inwards the center; as well as Enlene Cave inwards the east. These 3 caves contains a multifariousness of prehistoric artwork including stone engravings , cave icon as well as sculpture , of which the best known is the beautifully carved relief sculpture of a couplet of bison.
The bison reliefs are 2 feet inwards length , 18 inches inwards elevation as well as well-nigh 3-4 inches deep. They are modeled inwards clay , as well as their surface was given a moisture complete inwards gild to brand them smooth. The marks of the artist's mitt as well as the tools used to depict the details of the aspect upwards as well as mane are yet clearly visible. The bison’s shaggy mane as well as beard seem to endure carved alongside a tool , but the jaws are traced yesteryear the sculptor's fingernail. Both animals are supported yesteryear a key stone , as well as are unbelievably good preserved although they accept suffered simply about drying out , which has caused simply about cracks to seem across their bodies. Also inwards the bedroom are 2 other bison figures , both engraved on the ground. The sculptures are located well-nigh 650 meters from the entrance to the cave.
The Tuc d'Audoubert cave has been known since the belatedly 17th or early on 18th century , although the bison reliefs were non discovered until 1912. The 3 caves are owned yesteryear the identify unit of measurement of Count Begouen. The site is straight off shut to Earth inwards gild to forestall impairment from tourists.
Sources: Bradshaw Foundation / www.visual-arts-cork.com