The sanglier are shy creatures and are only seen on rare occasions but the deer are often in the fields near the house, early morning or at twilight, and to the discomfort of the gardener like to come into the garden at night to sample the produce.

The house is set in the heart of the Perigord Noir and is in the “Golden Triangle” – a convenient drive to the medieval town of Sarlat, to Bergerac and Perigueux, Beynac, Castlenaud, Marqueyssac etc.

We are only a short drive from the Abbey churches of Caduoin and Paunat and the Bastide villages of Beaumont, Monpazier and Domme.

Les Eyzies with its prehistoric sites is a short drive away. The river Dordogne is a 2 minute car ride or a 20 minute walk from the house and at the river is a bathing beach and canoes for hire to explore the beautiful river.

Although set in beautiful countryside, Le Clos Vert is only 2 minutes by car from the railway station at Le-Buisson-de-Cadouin with good train services to Bergerac, Bordeaux, Sarlat and Perigueux.

We are 45 minutes from Bergerac Airport and are convenient, but more distant from, airports at Limoges, Bordeaux and Toulouse.

Our rooms

We offer two comfortable bedrooms each with a double bed, which are set in their own self-contained segment of the house with their own shower and toilet facilities. The rooms are well furnished in a mixture of French and English styles. Both rooms have views along and across the valley to the woodland.

2011 rates for our rooms are 60 Euros for Bed and Breakfast per room per night inclusive.

Breakfast

Susan is renowned for the quality and quantity of her exceptional breakfasts. Choose from fresh bread, toast, brioche, croisants, newly baked muffins and cakes, cereals, yoghurts, fresh fruit salad, jams, local honey, fresh coffee, tea and hot chocolate. On a Dordogne summer morning guests often prefer to take breakfast sitting on the terrace enjoying the warm sunshine and the beautiful view across the fields.

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Directions – Lat: 44.8377° – Long: 0.9182°

In Le-Buisson you will find a railway crossing close to a garage and a Credit Agricole cash machine cabin.

Take the road the leads up the side of the railway line behind the Credit Agricole cabin and towards the Casino supermarket.

Follow this road, Chemin de la Mer, until it reaches what looks like a T-junction and follow the road to the left towards Fontenille.

After a few hundred meters you leave Le Buisson and shortly after you enter Mestreguiral. Le Clos Vert is the third (and last) house on the left. We are situated off the road, below our ancient wooden barn, once used for drying tobacco. Our entrance is 15m beyond the barn.

If you get to the Grotte de Maxange you will have gone too far, but its a good place to turn around.

La Borie des Combes offers you the following accommodation.

La Maison

This charming French Stone House dates back to medieval times and is set in the small village of Bezenac in the heart of the Aquitaine region in the fantastic Dordogne (dept 24). It sits on a hill overlooking the breathtaking Dordogne River. Bezenac was ground zero for the 1999 book by Michael Crichton “Timeline”, which is definitely recommended reading before or during your stay, as this immediate area was a hotbed of activity during the Hundred Years War and is chronicled in “Timeline” as well as many other books.
The house is situated in the quiet village of Bezenac, an easy 20 minute drive from Sarlat. This small village is not usually visited by tourists so a peaceful stay is the order of the day here if you wish, yet you are within a few kilometers of dozens of must see sites, super market, shops and places to eat that will make you wish you never had to leave. As close as we can trace the origins of this house, we’ve found out that it probably was built in stages, in the 13th or early 14th centuries. Many of the houses in France, and specifically in this area, date back to around the years 1100 and 1200 AD.
A lot of the original deeds for these houses in Dordogne were written in Latin. Most didn’t survive the ravages of time and war and the original dates of construction are often never known and can only be estimated buy examining the construction style and the materials used.

The meter thick stone walls in our house are more than simply an attractive building technique. The mass of the stone makes the house cool in the summer and stable in the colder months. Even in very hot weather with outside temperatures of 100° F, the interior of the house is rarely over 82° even with the doors and windows open. This, is with no air conditioning. In colder months, after the house is initially heated it retains the heat and is very cozy. There is a large gated, private courtyard with parking for two to three cars with additional parking at the back of the house if needed. A full laundry is available for your use.

The Studio

The studio has its own story to tell. There is a large semi-circular stone roofed bread oven or la borie at the far right end. This is where bread was baked not only for this house but for the entire hamlet. Back in medieval times and possibly into the ninetieth century, bread was baked right here, for the community. In those days every house didn’t have all of the conveniences that could provide the basic necessities so there were key house’s that had the necessary facilities to perform specific task’s. Our property was one of those key homes. The name of the Maison “La Borie des Combes” loosely means “the bread oven in the niche on the side of the hill”. Other houses in the area had similar specific distinction in regards to communal living. We were told the last time the oven was used was during WWII when the village baked bread here late at night to avoid the Nazi troops smelling and confiscating their bread. Today, unused, the bread oven is just part of the diverse history of the area and a distinguishing feature of the property to enjoy.

The studio sleeps two comfortably on a fold out couch that is made more like a bed than a couch, a cook top stove, sink and small fridge. It’s fully stocked with all of the necessities needed for simple cooking as well as all linens and towels. There is a table and three chairs for inside dining and if you wish, you may move these outdoors to dine in the courtyard or small side yard. It has a full private bath with shower. The fully equipped laundry is also available for your use.

The Studio Consists of:

• Fully self contained – sleeps two

• Private entrance

• Fold out couch bed

• Cook top, refrigerator, sink and food storage

• Full bath with shower

• Full Laundry facilities – Fully stocked with Linens, towels & Table cloths

• Free WiFi High Speed Internet

Chambre Gold

This beautiful bedroom suite is private, warm, cozy and comfortable. A golden glow permeates the air here and this suite is a joy and the perfect place to have a restful stay. It has a comfortable full size bed, love seat, comfy chair and a writing desk. It’s equipped with your own coffee maker and mini fridge, so if you want to have a leisurely morning you can take your time. It has its own private full bath fully stocked with towels and hair dryer. There is a private stone patio with a table and chairs if you’d like to sit privately outside. You also have full use of the laundry facilities. This room may also be linked with the loft above it. The stairway you see in the picture is secured for privacy when using this suite by itself and can be opened up for use as an additional bedroom when the loft is rented simultaneously.

Chambre Gold consists of:

• Beautiful fully private bedroom suite with full bath

• Private entrance

• Full bath with shower

• Love seat, two chairs and desk

• Mini Fridge & Coffee Maker

• Full Laundry facilities – Fully stocked with Linens & towels.

• Outdoor seating area on a stone patio.

• Free WiFi High Speed Internet

The Artists Loft

It is huge and is truly unique. With fourteen hundred square feet (130 sq meters) of living space, it’s a house of its own. We’re left the floor plan very open so as not to spoil the open feeling.

It will have a large double bed and enough floor space to house a small army. It also havs its own kitchen, full bath with tub/shower with all linens and towels provided. Plenty of shuttered windows, stone walls and two skylights that swing open to let in the fresh air. It features a large bar, CD player with a selection of great CD’s, a writing desk, large comfortable sofa and two overstuffed chairs. It also has private parking and entrance. If need be, this space can be linked to Chambre Gold for additional sleeping room and another full bathroom. You’ll also have full use of the laundry facilities and courtyard.

There is an outdoor table with umbrella that seats four with a view of the valley and outdoor lounge chairs.

Free WiFi High Speed Internet

Prices

More Info

Please visit our official website : www.francestonehouse.com

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Just 5km from the market village of St Cyprien, 7km from the ‘prehistoric capital’ of Les Eyzies and 17km from the medieval town of Sarlat, our accomodation provides the perfect location from which to explore the castles, rockart, caves and medieval villages which make up the vivid and diverse history of this region or simply to enjoy a peaceful and relaxing holiday.

Le Chèvrefeuille Gites

Le Chèvrefeuille has three Gites, or self catering accommodation.

La Petite Maison is our one bedroom gite, contained on the upper floor, it has one bedroom, living area which includes a small kitchette, bathroom and seperate toilet. It has a private terrace area set in its own cottage garden with furniture and BBQ.

Grapevine & Passiflore are our two bedroom gites, located in our 19th century barn. They are identical in dimensions and layout, each with an individual private terrace over looking our beautiful meadow garden.They are on two floors with the bedrooms on the first floor & living area on the ground floor.

Grapevine plus Breadroom can be combined to create a three bedroom gite. The breadroom is our superior bed and breakfast room connected to the grapevine gite by their terrace areas and offers an additional bedroom en-suite for extended family, parents and friends whilst offering a degree of privacy.

Outside area and Facilities

Le Chevrefeuille has large gardens with open and shaded areas ideal for relaxation and play. The large meadow garden is for the exclusive use of guests staying in the gites Passiflore, Grapevine, & the Breadroom, who all have immediate access from their individual terraces. In the meadow garden, large walnut trees offer splendid shaded areas for eating or reading and from this garden you gain a beautiful view over Pechboutier and its woodland which provides a delightful spot for bird watching. A children’s play area located at the bottom of the garden provides entertainment for children in a safe environment that can be viewed from the terraces for the comfort and relaxation of the parents with total peace of mind.

We offer an indoor children’s playroom including toys and for those who wish to explore the stunning countryside of the immediate area we have bikes available, including a child’s bike seat.

Baby equipment is available, which includes cot, bedding, changing mat, toys, highchair, soft chair and stair gate.

Washing machine, ironing facilities and washing line are provided for the use of our guests.

There is ample car parking facilities

B&B Rooms

Le Chèvrefeuille has five chambre d’hote or bed and breakfast rooms all of which are en-suite. We have two standard double rooms, two family rooms and the “bread room” which is our superior double room and is located outside in our beautiful courtyard.

Rooms

All our bed and breakfast rooms are all of a good size, all with European king size beds (with exception of the garden room which has a standard double bed and breakfast ) and shower en-suites.

Breakfast

The price of the room includes breakfast which consists of fresh croissants, a selection of fresh breads and pastries, fruit, yoghurt, cereals, juice and tea/coffee.

Dining

In addition to the varied local restaurants we are able to offer beautifully cooked evening meals using only the best fresh local produce. Dinner consists of a table d’hote menu of four courses plus coffee for Euros 23.50 per adult, 10 for children and is served in our magnificent courtyard.

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Read what people have to say about Le Chèvrefeuille 

For more info please visit : www.lechevrefeuille.com

Agonac Saturday
Beaumont Tuesday, Saturday
Belves Saturday
Bergerac Saturday, Wednesday
Brantome Tuesday, Friday
Cenac Tuesday
Cubjac Friday
Daglan Sunday
Domme Thursday
Eymet Thursday
Excideuil Thursday
Issigeac Sunday
Jumilhac Wednesday
La Coquille Thursday
Lalinde Thursday
La Roche Chalais Saturday
Le Bugue Tuesday
Le Buisson – Cadouin Friday
Les Eyzies Monday
Mareuil Tuesday
Monpazier Thursday
Montpon Wednesday
Montignac Saturday, Wednesday
Mussidan Saturday
Neuvic Saturday, Tuesday
Nontron Saturday
Perigeux Saturday, Wednesday
Piegut Wednesday
Razac Saturday, Wednesday
Riberac Tuesday, Friday
Rouffignac Sunday
Salignac-Eyvigues Tuesday
Sarlat Saturday, Wednesday
Sigoules Friday
Sorges Sunday
St Aulaye Saturday
St Astier Thursday
St Cyprien Sunday
St Genies Sunday
Terrasson Thursday
Thenon Tuesday
Thiviers Saturday
Tocane Monday
Tremolat Tuesday
Vergt Friday
Villefranche du Perigord Saturday

On the left bank of the Beune River, a group of caves are located at the opening of the small Combarelles Valley. The entrance to the Les Combarelles Caves is located on the right side of the departmental road 47, 2 kilometers after the village of Les Eyzies in the direction of Sarlat.

The environment of the cave consists essentially of agricultural lots in front, surrounded by a dense tree cover. In order to preserve the natural landscape, there is no picnic area in close proximity. There is, however, a gravel parking lot around 100 meters from the cave entrance.

Just next to Les Combarelles, Rey Cave, excavated by Emile Rivière, yielded a magnificent decorated spatula made from reindeer antler.

Around 50 meters further up the valley, the two Les Combarelles caves open into one wide entrance on a ledge around 10 meters above the current valley bottom. Les Combarelles I is open to the public, Les Combarelles II is closed.
There is a free parking lot very close to the welcome center. Guided visits must be reserved ahead of time at the ticket office of Font de Gaume cave.
Discovered in 1901 by Louis Capitain Henri Breuil and Denis Peyrony, the engravings of Les Combarelles Cave made a major contribution to the acceptance of parietal art. Along with those of Font-de-Gaume Cave, discovered just a few days later, and those of La Mouthe, known since 1895, the parietal works of Les Combarelles convinced researchers who until then did not believe that prehistoric humans had the mental and technical capacities necessary to realize them.

The entrance of the cavity was long used as a stable by peasants who found many Magdalenian flint and antler artifacts. But at the time, their interest was not recognized and the stratigraphy of the site remained unstudied.

The enthusiasm of Prehistorians concerning the engravings, on the other hand, lifted the site to its rightful place as one of the most beautiful decorated caves known. Henri Breuil even referred to this discovery as “(…) an enormous firecracker in the world of prehistory”.

Les Combarelles I has belonged to the State since its discovery. It is classified as historic monument and is open to the public. To accommodate visitors, the floor of the cave, was lowered and covered with a metal walkway. The lighting is dim and Plexiglas covers protect some of the figures from rubbing. Due to the fragility of the walls and natural alterations such as calcite deposits, it is necessary to limit the number of persons to 6 per visit. Les Combarelles II is closed to the public.

The innermost part of the cave is covered with engravings from the Magdalenian period (about 12,000 years ago). Drawn over a period of 2000 years, many are superimposed one upon another, and include horses, reindeer, mammoths and stylized human figures – among the finest are the heads of a horse and a lioness.

Hours May 15-Sept 15 Mon-Fri and Sun 9:30am-5:30pm; Sept 16-May 14 Mon-Fri and Sun 9:30am-12:30pm and 2-5:30pm

Location On D47, 17km (11 miles) north of Bergerac

Phone 05-53-06-86-00

Prices Admission 6.50€ ($8.45) adults, 4.50€ ($5.85) students and ages 18-24, free for children under 18

LE CHATEAUBRIANT
LES EYZIES
Tél : 05 53 35 06 11 – Fax : 05 53 35 06 15
map (F 5)

LE MENTALO
LES EYZIES
Tél / Fax : 05 53 06 92 01
map (G 7)

CAFE DE LA MAIRIE
LES EYZIES
Tél : 05 53 06 98 26
map (F 6)

LAUGERIE BASSE
LES EYZIES
Tél : 05 53 06 97 91 – Fax : 05 53 06 30 70
map (F 5)

LE FONT DE GAUME
LES EYZIES
Tél : 05 53 35 18 00 – Fax : 05 53 35 18 01
map (E 11)

LA MILANAISE
LES EYZIES
Tél : 05 53 35 43 97
map (E 5)

BAR ALEXANDRE
LES EYZIES
Tél : 05 53 06 96 04 – Fax : 05 53 06 96 04
map (D 5)

LE PETIT GOURMAND
LES EYZIES
Tél : 05 53 06 94 84
map (E 5)

LA METAIRIE
LES EYZIES
Tél : 05 53 29 65 32 – Fax : 05 53 29 65 30
map (J 14)

DU CÔTÉ DE CHEZ CLO
LES EYZIES
Tél : 05 53 03 95 20
map (F 6)

LA SOURCE
TURSAC
Tél : 05 53 06 98 00 – Fax : 05 53 35 13 61
map (C 9)

LA TRUFFIERE DE GASTARY
MEYRALS
Tél : 05 53 30 34 61
map (K 13)

AUBERGE DES CINQ CHENES
SAINT FELIX DE REILHAC
Tél : 05 53 03 20 76 / 05 53 03 22 61
map (D 2)

AUBERGE DE MEYRALS
MEYRALS
Tél : 05 53 29 22 08
map (J 10)

Tucked away in the Beune Valley a few kilometres from Les Eyzies, the Cap Blanc Prehistoric Centre reveals another aspect of Prehistoric Art Sculpture.
Over 15 000 years ago, Prehistoric hunters carved horses, bison and reindeer, some of which are over two metres long, straight into the Limestone cliffs.
Cap Blanc, which was discovered in 1909, is today the only frieze of prehistoric sculptures in the world to be shown to the public.

All around this monumental frieze, a museographical area provides the visitor with an overview of Cap Blanc life and art. Objects, pictures, and a fresco tell the story of Prehistoric sculptors throughout Europe.

The limestone rock shelter of Cap Blanc, near Laussel, northeast of Les Eyzies in France’s Dordogne region, is well known to the world of prehistory as the site of one of the finest sculptured friezes to survive the last Ice Age, the first to be unearthed, and currently the best to remain open to the public. Its figures of horses, bison and deer, albeit found in a much damaged condition at the time of their discovery by Dr. Gaston Lalanne of Bordeaux in 1909, remain a moving and powerful ensemble. Lalanne dug here and unearthed a fine collection of typical Magdalenian – about 15 000 years old – stone, bone and antler tools, including harpoons, and a number of large stone implements that had clearly been used to produce the parietal bas-relief and haut-relief sculptures that his crude excavations brought to light on the back wall. (Ed: Parietal – term used to describe artwork done on cave walls or large blocks of stone, as opposed to portable art, such as most of the venuses)

In 1911, further digging in front of the shelter for the purpose of erecting a small construction to enclose and protect the frieze and for lowering the floor level to make the art more visible to visitors led to the discovery of a human skull. Work was suspended and prehistorians Louis Capitan and Denis Peyrony were asked to extract the skeleton, a task that took them three days.

The Cap Blanc skeleton is of tremendous importance – not only a relatively intact inhumation from the late Ice Age but also one of the very few found in close proximity to parietal art of the period.

Indeed, the body’s location directly in front of the central part of the shelter’s sculptured frieze can really only be compared with that of the double paleolithic inhumation of an adult woman buried with her arm around a 17-year-old male dwarf in front of the engraved block at the Riparo di Romito, Italy. It was suggested by the excavators that the Cap Blanc burial may even be that of the original sculptor (or one of them), and this is unquestionably a possibility; certainly the location of the inhumation indicates a person with a strong link to the site.

Conflicting Reports

In France, the excavation of the skeleton in 1911 led to a brief publication that discussed primarily the two skeletons unearthed at La Ferrassie by the same excavators. They gave few details about the Cap Blanc find, stating only that the skeleton lay at the bottom of the archaeological deposit, 2. 3 meters from the frieze and 60 centimeters below the hooves of the central horse. It had been buried amid stones, with three fairly big stones placed above it, one of them on its head and others at its feet. It had been placed on its left side, arms and legs flexed, occupying a space of only 3 feet by 2 feet (1 meter by 60 centimeters), immediately below a Magdalenian hearth.

It is curious that early reports of the Cap Blanc skeleton claimed that it was of a male aged about 25, whereas examination by physical anthropologists eventually established that it was of a young adult female.

A recent examination of the field Museum’s archive on the case made it possible to reconstruct much of the story. The earliest document in the archive is a letter, dated January 24, 1911, to Monsieur J. Grimaud, the site’s owner, from the president of the Société des Antiquaires de 1′Ouest in Poitiers, acknowledging receipt of a report on the rock shelters of Laussel (i.e. Cap Blanc) together with photos and five boxes, one containing reindeer teeth and bones and the other four containing flint tools. A letter, dated August 5, 1911, from Paul Leon, at the Ministère de l’Instruction Publique et des Beaux-Arts in Paris, thanks M. Grimaud for reporting the discovery of the skeleton and states that he will ask Peyrony to take appropriate measures to preserve it. Peyrony himself (the Membre Correspondant de la Commission des Monuments Historiques aux Eyzies) writes on August 8 that the Minister has asked him to verify the authenticity of the Laussel skeleton, make all necessary scientific observations, and supervise the excavation. He therefore went to the site that very morning and examined the find in the presence of Grimaud’s guard, Veyret. The remains were indeed authentic.

Only two days later, Grimaud received a letter from Dr. Capitan, professor at the Collège de France, dated August 10, which is a key document for the site. The letter contains a sketch of the location of the bones and reports that they are 2. 3 metres from the big horse and around 70 centimetres below its muzzle. They occupy a kind of pit, 50 centimetres deep, and the skull was unfortunately broken by a blow from a workman’s pickaxe.

Capitan insists, rightly, that the excavation be carried out by experienced and qualified people and suggests himself and Peyrony for the task, as they have just unearthed the two older skeletons from La Ferrassie. To make matters clear, he proposes that the excavators produce the scientific report, while any finds would belong to Grimaud. In the meantime, the skeleton has been covered with stones and planks for its protection.

A new letter from Capitan, dated August 28, reports that the skeleton has been removed in its entirety in a number of blocks of earth, and it will now be possible to excavate the bones properly and carefully, once Peyrony has transported them to Paris by rail, probably in September or October. For the present, these blocks are in Peyrony’s care, and he will dry them out slowly. Most important is a brief sentence, stating that “All we found with the skeleton was a shapeless fragment. probably of ivory.” This is indeed a small ivory point measuring 0. 6 by 3 by 0. 4inches (16 by 74 by 10 millimetres), which is kept at the Field Museum, having been sold along with the skeleton.

It is described as “several thin laminae glued together along with bits of matrix and partially reconstructed or plastered over with some sort of filling material.” According to its original display case label, this point was “found over the abdominal cavity of this individual” and “the weapon may have been the cause of death. ”

This is certainly the theory that was promoted by Henry Field, the eventual acquirer of the skeleton for the museum. He claimed in a 1927 article that the skeleton died a natural death, yet also noted: A small ivory harpoon-point found lying just above the abdomen may give a possible clue to the cause of his death. This weapon may have caused blood poisoning which resulted in death. It has been suggested tentatively that the young man [sic] felt death approaching and returned to the rock-shelter, as he desired to die before the masterpiece he had helped to create. . . It is not plausible that some one who had nothing to do with the sculpture should have been allowed to desecrate the sanctuary unless he had assisted in the work or, at any rate, was directly connected with it.

In Field’s memoirs, his speculations were even more romantic: “Why had she been buried beneath the frieze of horses? Was she killed by her lover’s ivory lance point? Was it by another Cro-Magnon girl? Was her brother avenging the family’s honor? Was she killed in battle? Why was she buried in the sanctuary? Was she the daughter of the sculptor-high priest? There was no real evidence, except that death probably resulted from blood poisoning.”

No source is given for the theory that the ivory point was the cause of death or the claim that it was found above the abdomen – perhaps this was merely M. Grimaud’s opinion – but nevertheless it is baffling that such a potentially important object was completely omitted from the published report by Capitan and Peyrony. Indeed, were it not for this casual mention in Capitan’s letter, there would be absolutely no guarantee THE CAP BLANC LADY that the point had any connection with the Cap Blanc skeleton. Yet ivory is not common in Magdalenian contexts in southwest France, let alone ivory points that may be a cause of death. In this connection, it is worth noting that the only clear evidence we have of violence inflicted on humans during the last Ice Age consists of a probable flint arrowhead embedded in the pelvis of an adult woman from San Teodoro Cave, Sicily, and an arrowhead in the vertebra of a child from the Grotte des Enfants at Balzi Rossi, Italy.

A letter to Grimaud from Peyrony, dated August 31, 1911, notes that”we have been able to lift the whole thing in a pretty good state. The whole skeleton will be able to be reconstructed and will be a very good study piece. I have conserved it in Les Eyzies, as Mr Capitan was not able to take it. I will carry it to Paris next October. ” However, it is clear that Capitan had major problems in getting the skeleton dealt with in Paris. Letters from him complain of the difficulty in finding someone qualified and with sufficient time available to prepare the bones for casting and display. It is also interesting to learn that there were plans afoot to have a cast made and placed in the shelter; in fact, for some reason this was never done, and instead a miscellaneous collection of casts of other bones was put together for this purpose. In a letter dated July 29, 1913, Capitan tells Grimaud that an artist will be sent to carry out this assignment. A letter from Grimaud in 1924 notes that “in accordance with the Ministere des Beaux Arts, I have had a modern skeleton set in place at the foot of the sculptures, in place of the real skeleton. ”

Nevertheless, the original skeleton was eventually extracted from its sediments by J. Papoint of the Laboratoire de Paleontologie at the Musee National d’Histoire Naturelle under the direction of Marcellin Boule(director of the museum) and of Capitan. A letter from Papoint, dated February 27, 1915, records the state of the bones:

You will find the skull in the wooden box. It is in two pieces. It was impossible for me to reconstruct it because of the deformation caused by fossilisation. I left in the same block the upper and lower jaws as well as the seven cervical vertebrae which I extracted as well as I could. There are two upper incisors that I put to one side, since I could not fit them in their sockets. These two skull pieces are very fragile and need to be unpacked with care. The dorsal and lumbar vertebrae are all present. The ribs are incomplete. All the limb bones are in good condition. A few fragments of the shoulder-blades and pelvis bones are missing. This is due to the fragility of certain parts of these bones. A few phalanges are missing from the hands and feet.
The Sale of the Bones
By early 1915, the Cap Blanc skeleton had been restored to its owner. Monsieur Grimaud. It then disappeared from view until the start of his attempt to sell it to an American museum nine years later. According to Henry Field, “in 1916 M. Grimaud, having made no money out of the discoveries on his property, decided to reclaim his anticipated profit, and during the stress of war conditions was able to ship the skeleton to New York.” In his later memoirs, he added that “the skeleton was said to have been smuggled out of France during World War I in a coffin as an American soldier with the necessary papers forged.” Yet documentation available at the Field Museum provides no real clue as to why Grimaud decided to send it to America, or why he apparently waited a further eight years before trying to sell it. His initial choice was the American Museum of Natural History in New York, but, to cut a long story short, his protracted negotiations, via American lawyers in Paris, eventually came to nothing, in part because of his huge asking price ($12, 000, equivalent to about $250, 000today).

Finally, after steadily dropping his price, he sold it to Chicago’s Field Museum for a much lower amount. According to Field’s memoirs, a representative of the museum was sent to Monsieur Grimaud “with twenty-five thousand-franc bills (the equivalent of a thousand dollars) in one hand and a receipt ready for signature in the other. ” He continues, “Some days later a cable came from Paris saying that the Cap-Blanc skeleton was ours. I hurried to New York and in the basement of the Museum of Natural History packed her very carefully in cotton wool and carried her in a suitcase to a compartment on the Twentieth Century [train]. We had a very uneventful night together. ”

With the benefit of hindsight, Field’s memoirs claim that, as he laid out the bones in Chicago, “the pelvic girdle was definitely feminine” – yet, as noted above, his article of 1927 still saw the skeleton as a young man! The skeleton in its new case was first displayed prominently just inside the museum’s main entrance.

It was introduced to the media as “the only prehistoric skeleton in the United States”, and so became front-page news. The first day, 22 000 visitors came to see for themselves. At noon, the crowd was so dense around her that the captain of the guard. . . notified the director that two guards must be placed there to keep the people moving and orderly. . . . Nothing like this had happened before in the Field Museum. . . . This was the first exhibit in the new building to capture the public and press imagination. ”

In 1932, the skeleton was withdrawn from exhibition so that the skull could be restored by T. Ito under the direction of Gerhardt von Bonin of the Department of Anatomy at the University of Illinois. According to von Bonin:

When the skeleton arrived at the Museum, it was in an almost perfectly clean condition, only a few bones being still embedded in a matrix of somewhat gritty, loam-like matter. The long bones were almost all perfectly preserved. The pelvic and the shoulder girdle were somewhat damaged, particularly in the pubic region and the scapula. The vertebral column appeared to be complete, the vertebrae were for the most part still held together by adhering soil. Twelve left and ten right ribs were found, and a rather decayed square piece of bone, apparently all that was left from the manubrium sterni. The cervical column was firmly attached to the lower jaw and a part of the upper jaw.

The skull was broken into a number of fragments. The bones are of a brownish colour, darker in some spots and lighter in others. They are firm enough to be handled conveniently, yet somewhat brittle. In some spots, dental cement had been put on the bones in order to prevent them from crumbling.

Von Bonin’s conclusion, after a full anatomical study, was that these were the remains of a young woman, about 5 feet, 1 inch (156 centimeters) tall and about 20 years of age.

In an exhibition case next to the skeleton, the museum installed a life-size diorama of the Cap Blanc rock shelter, modeled by Frederick Blaschke. As the only complete European paleolithic skeleton on exhibition in an American museum, the Cap Blanc woman was seen by several million visitors in her first decade in Chicago alone. But the story does have a happy ending of sorts.

Thanks to the generosity of a private sponsor, a complete cast of the Cap Blanc lady – and of her ivory point was made, and on July 14, 2001, the cast was installed in its rightful place beneath the central frieze in France.

The cast of the Cap Blanc lady, restored to her original resting place in front of the center of the carved frieze on July 14, 2001.

In the early 12th century 6 Monks from the Monastery of Paunat were travelling between Monasteries when one of the Monks became very ill, they set up camp in Tayac near a water source. The monk was dieing, but miraculously healed after drinking the water from the “Tayac Source”. To the Monks of Paunat this was a “Sign” and round about 1123 they started building the magnificent and fortified church of Tayac, they called it “St Martin“. At the same time, the Monks of Paunat started working the land in this lush Vezere valley, they built the farmhouse / monastery, which is now “Ferme de Tayac” that has been completely renovated, and is now a lovely B&B opposite the church. For hundreds of years the Monks lived here and worked the lands, bit by bit houses were built against the rock. The water from the “Tayac Source” was taken to other surrounding Monasteries, for it’s healing powers, Tayac was thriving. Two centuries later, things took a turn, wars were breaking out, armies were constantly attacking areas and strongholds. Religion and all that went with it lost it’s power, and very slowly the life in and around Tayac became what it is today. St. Martin still stands proud, and is without doubt the nicest Fortified Church in the Perigord, the “Tayac Source” is still there, although no longer in use.

For more and updated info on Ferme de Tayac please visit their official web site www.fermedetayac.com