The site that named the Magdalenian

In the cliff above the Vézère, at Tursac, the Madeleine shelter is the type site of the Magdalenian, the last great culture of the Upper Palaeolithic. Magdalenian hunters stayed here some 17,000 to 12,000 years ago. The deposit was discovered in 1863 by Édouard Lartet and Henry Christy, and in 1869 Gabriel de Mortillet made it a reference site. Listed as a historic monument since 1956, it is one of the prehistoric sites of the Vézère valley inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage in 1979.

Masterpieces of portable art

The shelter has yielded outstanding portable art. In 1864 an ivory plate engraved with a mammoth proved that humans had known this vanished animal, which helped to establish prehistory as a science. The excavations of Denis Peyrony and Louis Capitan (1910 to 1913) uncovered the famous bison licking its flank, probably part of a spear-thrower. The only human skeleton from the deposit, a child of two to four years dated to about 10,190 years ago and wearing a necklace of shells, was found in 1928.

A medieval troglodyte village

From the end of the 9th century the cliff was turned into a troglodyte village: semi-troglodyte houses, a communal oven, the chapel of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine partly cut into the rock, and the château du Petit Marzac above the cliff. The village was gradually abandoned from 1870.

Visiting

The prehistoric deposit itself is not open to the public, for conservation reasons. The displays and guided visits tell the story of the Magdalenians instead. The site has been open to the public since 1988 and offers:

  • a guided visit of 1 hour 15, or a self-guided visit with an audioguide;
  • demonstrations of ancient crafts;
  • a troglodyte trail;
  • a farm created in 2021.

It is open every day from March to November. In the valley you can combine it with Lascaux IV in Montignac, or with the National Museum of Prehistory in Les Eyzies. See also our Vézère valley weekend.

Practical information was checked in October 2026: please confirm opening times and book on the official website before your visit.