La Madeleine (prehistoric site)

Abri de la Madeleine

Abri de la Madeleine
Perforated baton with low relief horse
Location in France Show map of Aquitaine Location in France Show map of France
Alternate name	Magdalene shelter
Location	near near Tursac
Region	Dordogne, France
Coordinates	44°58′01″N 1°2′11″E / 44.96694°N 1.03639°E / 44.96694; 1.03639Coordinates: 44°58′01″N 1°2′11″E / 44.96694°N 1.03639°E / 44.96694; 1.03639
History
Cultures	Magdalenian
Site notes
Excavation dates	1909,
Archaeologists	Émile River

The Abri de la Madeleine (The Magdalene shelter) is a prehistoric shelter under an overhanging cliff situated near Tursac, in the Dordogne département and the Aquitaine Région of South-Western France. The Magdalenian culture of the Upper Paleolithic is named after it, as the type site. Prehistoric finds from the site include the Bison Licking Insect Bite, a carving estimated 20,000 BC. The shelter was reoccupied during the Middle Ages. The medieval castle of Petit Marsac stands on the top of the cliff just above the shelter.

Édouard Lartet & Henry Christy were the first systematic excavators of the site, and published their findings in 1875 as the Age of the Reindeer ("L'âge du renne"). Finds from la madelaine are divided between a number of museums, including the Museum of Toulouse, the Musee des Antiquites Nationales, St. Germain-en-Laye and the British Museum.