The Bruniquel Cave, an archaeological site near Bruniquel in southwestern France, is one of the famous Palaeolithic sites. One can find Annular (ring) and Accumulation (pile) structures made of broken stalagmites 336mt from the entrance of this cave. Traces of fire can also be found there, as the early Neanderthals had built the cave approximately 176,000 years ago.

Stalagmite is an upward-growing mound of mineral deposits that have precipitated from water dripping onto the floor of a cave. Most stalagmites have rounded or flattened tips. There are also different types of mineral formations found in ancient caves. Stalagmite and stalactite are ice-shaped deposits, as their formation takes place when limestone melts in the presence of water and then redeposits calcium carbonate along the roof or floor of a cave.

There are several such caves in India. It may be noted that the Shiva Lingam inside a 40mt-tall cave at an elevation of 3,888mt on the Amarnath Mountain is a natural stalagmite formation. The Amarnath Mountain has a peak of 5,186mt.

The Neanderthal inhabitants had broken over 400 stalagmites and arranged those pieces in two circles in the Bruniquel Cave. Each piece of stalagmite was four-seven metres long, while the diameter of the smallest one was only 2mt. Also, there were traces of fire and charred bones everywhere inside the cave. According to researchers, the Neanderthals penetrated deep below the ground and gave the rocks a complex shape!

Presumably, a group of prehistoric Neanderthals was technologically quite efficient. Hence, they were able to deliberately break the stones and precisely rearrange them. They probably used the fire to change the shape of some objects. There are more than 120 red and black lines that are not found anywhere outside the chamber. These lines are not natural, but man-made. Most probably, those were created by the deliberate application of heat.

Although it seems unbelievable, the Neanderthals created those lines about 176,000 years ago. At that period of time, Homo Sapiens used to live by hunting and gathering in eastern and southeastern Africa. The Neanderthals built the cave in France even before the development of human settlements in that particular region of Europe.

The question arises here: Why did they build those stalagmite circles? There is still no evidence that anyone used to live in this cave. Researchers are of the opinion that the cave may have been the place where the Neanderthals performed primitive religious rituals. A section of researchers has claimed that sounding loudly on an open fork through a deep hole creates an echo. Maybe it was related to their religious practices.

The spread of Neanderthal mysticism is still a debatable issue. However, there is no doubt that the Bruniquel Cave witnessed a number of peculiar religious rituals. Meanwhile, it can be guessed that mysticism was a common practice of the Neanderthals.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das