LE CADOUIN: Deep inside a labyrinthine cave in south-western France, ancient humans who lived around 30,000 years ago carved horses, mammoths and rhinoceros into the walls, a fabulous prehistoric menagerie that has rarely been seen — until now.

Discovered in 2000 by an amateur cave explorer, the Grotte de Cussac in the Dordogne department holds ancient human remains, traces of long-extinct bears and stunning, fragile artworks its custodians go to great lengths to preserve.

Typically, the French authorities restrict access to the cave to researchers, who are only allowed to enter it four weeks per year. But a team of journalists was recently allowed to visit the cave for the first time, accompanied by scientists working to unravel its mysteries.

After unlocking the metal grate that blocks the entrance, the group put on white protective overclothes, head coverings and gloves, then disinfected the soles of their boots.

Authorities are anxious to avoid a repeat of the damage done to France’s famed Lascaux caves by microorganisms brought in by visitors.

The Lascaux caves, which are also located in Dordogne, were closed to the public in 1963 to save their precious frescoes. The Cussac cave is accessed by a narrow passage through boulders that have closed off its inner chambers for thousands of years.

Lighting the way with headlamps, visitors cross vast chambers of stalactites and stalagmites, following the same narrow path as Marc Delluc, the late amateur speleologist who discovered the cave in Sept 2000.

Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2025