What Happened On September 12th?
On September 12, 1940, Marcel Ravidat, a young boy from Montignac, France, set off on an adventure that would change his life. The previous day, while walking in the woods, he discovered a strange hole beneath the roots of a fallen tree. The unusual opening piqued his curiosity, so he returned with three of his friends: Jacques Marsal, Georges Agnel, and Simon Coencas. They believed this hole led to an ancient tunnel or treasure, inspired by stories of hidden riches that circulated in the area for generations.
With Marcel’s dog, Robot, leading the way, the four boys squeezed through the narrow passage. They had no idea they were about to uncover one of the most significant archaeological discoveries of the 20th century. Crawling through the tight, dark space, they anticipated what lay ahead. When they emerged into a larger cavern, their lanterns cast flickering light on the cave walls, revealing something far more extraordinary than any treasure they had imagined.
Instead of gold or ancient artifacts, they found themselves surrounded by stunning paintings of animals—powerful bulls, graceful stags, horses in full stride, and woolly rhinoceroses. These creatures appeared frozen in time but full of life, as if leaping off the stone in vivid detail. The boys had unknowingly entered a hidden gallery of prehistoric art, dating back over 17,000 years, left behind by a forgotten civilization.
As they explored deeper into the cave, the enormity of their discovery grew. The walls displayed more than 600 colorful images of animals, painted with incredible precision. Some were sketched quickly, as if to capture a fleeting moment. The scale and complexity of the artwork left the boys in awe. They spent hours inside, their lanterns providing the only light to illuminate the vast scenes before them.
When the boys returned to the village to share their discovery, they had no idea of the potential impact. They assumed the paintings had been created by more recent artists—possibly hermits or monks from medieval times. The idea that prehistoric humans had created the artwork seemed unthinkable. After informing their schoolteacher, Léon Laval, the possibility of the paintings’ ancient origins began to emerge. Laval, recognizing the importance of their find, contacted Abbé Henri Breuil, a renowned prehistorian.
Breuil, after decades of studying prehistoric art across Europe, arrived at Lascaux, initially skeptical. But the moment he entered the cave, he recognized the magnitude of what the boys had found. The paintings in Lascaux weren’t simple drawings; they were works of art. Horses, aurochs, and stags filled the walls, captured in fluid motion. The artists had used shading and perspective to give the animals depth and form. Some animals stretched up to five meters long, painted with such detail that it suggested an intimate knowledge of anatomy and movement.
The artists had ground minerals like ochre, manganese, and charcoal into fine pigments. They mixed these pigments with animal fat to create long-lasting, vibrant paints that adhered to the limestone walls. They used hollow bones to blow pigment onto the walls, allowing for softer lines and blended colors, a technique far ahead of its time.
As the boys ventured deeper into the cave, they discovered what later became known as the “Shaft of the Dead Man.” In this more isolated section, they encountered one of the cave’s most mysterious images—a man lying flat with arms outstretched beside a disemboweled bison and a bird-headed figure. Unlike the lifelike animals elsewhere in the cave, the human figure appeared crude and childlike, adding to the mystery. Scholars later debated whether the scene depicted a ritual, a hunting accident, or something else entirely.
The artists created these paintings in complete darkness. The cave had no natural light, so early humans used stone lamps filled with animal fat to light their way. Archaeologists later found remnants of these lamps, confirming how they worked. Despite the difficult conditions, the artists painted with precision, creating images that spanned entire walls.
Even though World War II raged on, the discovery of the Lascaux Cave attracted worldwide attention. Despite the Nazi occupation of France, scholars, archaeologists, and historians rushed to study the site. The timing of the discovery during such a dark period gave the cave an almost mythical quality, offering a glimpse into a distant, forgotten past.
The boys, especially Marcel and Jacques, returned to the cave often in those early days, marveling at what they had found. They took great care to avoid disturbing the paintings, understanding the fragility of their discovery. Jacques, fascinated by Lascaux, later dedicated his life to its preservation, becoming one of the cave’s earliest custodians. For weeks after the discovery, the boys and a few trusted villagers remained the only ones to witness the cave’s wonders.
Few people recognize just how massive the Lascaux Cave system is. The cave stretches over 235 meters, with several interconnected galleries, each more intricate than the last. Some chambers, like the Hall of Bulls, contained paintings covering the walls from floor to ceiling, with animals painted in layers as though part of an evolving narrative.
The boys, although unaware of the full historical weight of their discovery, felt the awe that came with finding something untouched for millennia. Their instincts to preserve the cave in those first crucial days helped ensure its survival. Later, experts would realize the discovery’s importance as one of the greatest glimpses into the lives and creativity of early humans. But for the boys, in those first moments underground, the cave was simply a magical, forgotten world they had the fortune to uncover.
