THE STAIN

Sometimes we don’t see what we want, but what we can! In 1660 Ruben de la Vialle, together with his colleagues, set out on the Niaux route: a magnificent piece of rock art yet to be discovered. He gains access to a 500 meter long passage with a high vault, turns towards a side tunnel and ascends another 300 meters until he reaches a central chamber, where he exchanges impressions with colleagues, stamps his flowery signature on a wall and sets off on his way back without looking back, yes, at the impressive mural of bison, ibex and deer which sat a mere few centimetres from his signature. The animals had to wait a few more centuries before they were discovered and Ruben went down in the history of archeology, the Happiest on Earth!