“A few seconds of decision which mark your life”: by choosing, on December 18, 1994, to revisit a cavity which had piqued their curiosity in the Cirque d’Estre in Ardèche, a trio of speleologists discovered the Chauvet cave, a jewel of parietal art.
“What exactly were we doing 30 years ago at this time?”, Eliette Brunel laughs at the question that came from the room, during a round table which commemorates the anniversary of the discovery.
That day, around 11:45 a.m., the three speleologists, amateurs but seasoned, were surely “at the table”, “arguing about what we were going to do in the afternoon”, says the septuagenarian, tempting to retell the story of this now historic day.
His friend Jean-Marie Chauvet suggests returning to a small cavity that they already know. A suggestion which led him, with the approval of his comrades, to leave his name to the cave located in Vallon-Pont-d’Arc, in the south of Ardèche.
The “few seconds” to decide to return will mark their lives, he told journalists after the round table. “This cave, finally, was waiting for us.”
Placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, it houses the oldest pictorial representations known to date, according to the Ministry of Culture, with a date set at more than 36,000 years.
Lionesses, bears, aurochs, mammoths, horses… it contains more than 1,000 “graphic entities”, mainly representations of animals, but also archaeological remains, such as cave bear bones.
– “A big blow” –
On the ground, Eliette Brunel has taken the lead of the trio and digs the narrow tunnel through which they slip.
“It was an outing like any other. We didn’t think at all (…) that we were going to find a decorated cave. And when I arrived at the end of the tunnel in fact, it was immense, it was the emptiness in front of me,” she explains.
“I said ‘ooh’, and the ‘ooh’ went very far, so I told them: we’re on to something big.”
They descend by a flexible ladder.
“It shone everywhere (…) because we had small (headlamps). I remember above all an impression of grandeur. And then there were crystals everywhere”, remembers Christian Hillaire, the third speleologist, blown away even before discovering the paintings.
The cave, sealed by a landslide 23,000 years earlier, is also a geological marvel with magical concretions, preserved from the outside.
After half an hour, lacking lighting, they are forced to go out again.
They report their discovery to Eliette Brunel’s daughter, who immediately wants to see it with her own eyes. The group returns there and spends a good part of the night there.
On this occasion, they discovered the large “horse fresco”.
“We had a slightly more powerful lighthouse, and from a distance, we saw the fresco. Following the horses’ gaze, we arrived at the stele, where a bear skull is placed on a rock,” describes Christian Hillaire , about his favorite work.
– “Fishing” –
A few days later, the discovery was reported to the competent authorities.
“We have to be believed, it’s already not easy: But are you sure that…? Yes, we’re sure of it. It’s shown, it’s not told”, recalls Christian Hillaire with a smile.
The preservation of the site, the first concern of the three speleologists, remains predominant: access is very regulated. For almost 10 years, however, the public has been able to enjoy this gem thanks to a 3,000 m2 replica. Some 3.5 million people have visited it.
The three friends, who had already discovered small decorated caves during their previous expeditions, remain humble in the face of their incredible find, which was followed by years of legal battles to promote their role as “inventors”.
“What drives you, in fact, is like someone who goes fishing: it’s not having two kilos of fish, it’s when it bites. It’s these moments that are most “It’s the first 30 seconds,” says Jean-Marie Chauvet.
“Even if we say to ourselves, one day we will find a + Lascaux +, you are not prepared when it happens to you”, concedes Eliette Brunel.
