Caves and Castles Day 2 - Sept 22, 2009

We spent the morning at Rouffignac "the Hundred Mammoths cave". In this cave, we rode a train which transports tourists with minimal impact on the cave. Again, photos were not allowed, although I took some of the cave entrance and the train.

Here is the official site for Rouffignac: www.grottederouffignac.fr/ .
Megan's Rouffignac blogs are here and here .

The next stop was our first castle - Chateau de l'Herm. This is a late 15th century castle that is now mostly in ruins. It was purchased by a couple, both archaeologists, who have initiated projects to protect the castle. It is also used for summer concerts and theater performances. The official website is www.chateaudelherm.com/accueil_ang.html  

Here is a shot of Megan running around the castle:

In the afternoon, we returned to Les Eyzies for lunch, and then spent time at an active Archaeological site, Abri Pataud. An archaeologist demonstrated the three dimensional grid system used to record where artifacts and fossils are found.

Finally, we walked down the street to Abri Cro Magnon, where remains of the first modern humans were found. Interestingly, in French Cro means Quarry, and Monsieur Magnon was the owner of the quarry where the remains were found
 
 

 
Megan's final blog entry for the day contains sketches of Rouffignac, the castle and Abri Cro Magnon.
 
To see my photos from the day, click here.