Cave of the Trois-Frères

The Cave of the Trois-Frères is a cave in southwestern France famous for its paintings [1]. It is located in Montesquieu-Avantès, in the Ariège département [1]. The cave is named for three brothers, Max, Jacques, and Louis Begouën, who, along with their father, Henri Begouën, discovered it in 1912 [1]. The drawings in the cave were made famous in the publications of the archeologist Henri Breuil [1]. The cave art appears to date to around 15,000 years ago [1]. One of the paintings, known as "the Sorcerer", is the "most famous and enigmatic human figure", with the features of several different animals, whose exact characteristics remain a matter of debate [1]. A variety of engraved animals are found on the cave walls, including lions, owls, and bison [1]. Of particular note is a horse overlaid with claviform (club-like) symbols and an apparently speared brown bear vomiting blood [1].