History

The Dordogne and the Perigord region are sometimes known as the “Land of the origin of man”. The extensive history can be traced back to approximately 400,000 years ago according to first traces of Homo Sapiens Sapiens known as Cro Magnon man discovered in the Vezere valley near Les Eyzies at La Micoque in 1868. Later in 1909 at Combe-Capelle, near to Saint-Avit-Seigneur the oldest signs of homo sapiens sapiens in the whole of Europe were discovered.

There are a concentration of prehistoric sites around Les Eyzies, Le Moustier, La Madeleine, La Ferrassie and Montignac (Lascaux caves). These came about with the construction of troglodyte sites which were still in use at the beginning of the middle ages.

It was in 507, under Clovis’ reign after a treaty between Chief Walla of the Wisigoths, a people of Germanic origin, and the roman emperor Honorius in which Chief Walla was given the Aquitaine, that the French lost its’ rights to the region. During medieval times the region was jointly occupied by the French and the English.

During the many wars that took place, numerous chateaux (castles), bastides (fortified towns and villages) and citadelles (the first small cities) were constructed.