Bruniquel Cave

Bruniquel Cave is an archeological site near Bruniquel, in an area which has many paleolithic sites, east of Montauban in southwestern France [1]. Annular (ring) and accumulation (pile) structures made of broken stalagmites have been found 336 metres from the cave entrance [1]. Traces of fire were also found [1]. In a letter to Nature reporting the discovery in 2016, Jacques Jaubert and his co-authors state the structures are of anthropogenic origin, and as early Neanderthals were the only humans in the area at that time, they must have been the builders [1]. Bruniquel Cave was closed naturally during the Pleistocene [1]. The artificial ring structures made of broken stalagmites now have been dated by uranium series dating as 176.5 thousand years old [1]. Approximately 400 stalagmite pieces were used in the construction of the structure, with a total length of 112.4 metres and weight of approximately 2.2 tons [1].