Palaeolithic Cap Blanc rock shelter (Marquay, Dordogne). Frieze sculpted on the back vertical wall
The sculpture bears witness to a rare technique in rock art, seen at several sites that are not comparable to “sanctuary” caves, but are rather rock shelters serving as habitats. Measuring 16.50m in length, the Cap Blanc rock shelter (15,000 BP) showcases a sculpted frieze that spreads across nearly the whole of the shelter and includes some fifteen figures of which at least half are horses. Depicted in profile and facing the right or left, the figures are hieratic and quite stereotypical. Three are impressively sized works (between 1.38m and 2.20m long) and are sculpted in high relief on a champlevé background.