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Venus of Brassempouy – la Dame de Brassempouy

During the 1894 excavations in a cave known as la Grotte du Pape, just outside the southern French village of Brassempouy, archaeologists recovered what must surely be one of the most well known faces of the Upper Palaeolithic – the Venus of Brassempouy. Coming face-to-face with the original (I was not allowed to touch it, quite rightly) about 20 years ago, I can honestly say it sent a shiver down my spine. So I bought a replica of the figurine and it still sits on my desk today.

Venus Of Brassempouy Front Side Views
One of the most well known faces of the European Palaeolithic – the Venus of Brassempouy.
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External display at La Maison de la Dame de Brassempouy. Photograph © Julien 31/Wikimedia

Archaeology Travel Writer

Thomas Dowson

With a professional background in archaeology and a passion for travel, I founded Archaeology Travel to help more people explore our world’s fascinating pasts. Born in Zambia, I trained as an archaeologist at the University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa) and taught archaeology at the universities of Southampton and Manchester (England). Read More

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