Ever since I studied anthropology at university, I have wanted to see prehistoric cave drawings. Today I finally had the chance! The drive to the Pyrenees was beautiful and as we drove up the mountains, the countryside became greener and wilder. Half way up a mountainside lay the Grotte de Niaux wherein lie cave drawings from Magdelanian people, made 14,000 years ago.

We had taken warm jumpers and sports shoes with us and our guide gave us flash lights. 20 of us descended into deep caves which had been created thousands of years before by an old river. Inside the cave it was very dark (obviously), with rocks as smooth and slippery as glass, stalactites growing from the ceilings and a floor of sand and puddles.

Around 600m into the cave we discovered “graffiti” from the 1600s to the 1800s. Apparently locals have known about the caves for hundred of years and have visited periodically, leaving their name and the year of their visit drawn in rocks in the cave. So funny to think that they had tourists and sight-seers in those days – and hilarious to think that they were “taggers”.

Once we had descended 800m into the cave, our guide led us up an old sand dune that has since become solid rock, into the “black cavern”. After we had relinquished our flash lights, she led us to a side of the cavern and then lit up one wall, which was full of paintings made by Magdelanian people 14,000 years ago.

Then she led us further along the cave and highlighted another wall. These drawings were 1000 years more recent and seemed to be more “sophisticated” with details of the animals’ markings. There was even one bison with an eye that followed you around the room. Chris pointed out that the drawings would have been even more dramatic in the cave in firelight!

The roof of the cavern is very tall and the acoustics within the cave are extraordinary – each sound echoes around 7-8 times. The choice of cavern for the drawings along with the subject (animals of the region) lead anthropologists to think that the drawings were definitely a communication to other people of the time and possibly had some spiritual significance.

We were aware that this was a very special experience – to see art work from the earliest Homo sapiens in Europe first hand, instead of through a book or online, was amazing. We knew, and felt, extraordinarily lucky and blessed to have had that experience. The organisers are so conscious of the impact that tourists have on this cave, that I feel sure it will not be open to the public anymore in a few more years.

On the way home we detoured via Foix which is a gorgeous old medieval village in the Pyranees which has witnessed some extraordinary encounters between Catholic and Cathar, Franks and Visigoths, as well as the more recent war of religions in the 15th century. A couple of hours wasn’t long enough to visit this lovely town so we hope to a be able to return and see it in more detail soon.