One was the setting for a major paleontological discovery: the so-called Cro-Magnon man was exhumed there in 1868. The other is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its rock carvings, identified in 1952, representing animals, but also a silhouette of a man, an alleged sorcerer who moreover gives his name to the place. Located in the Dordogne, the first in Saint-Cirq, the second in the territory of Les Eyzies, in the mythical Vézère valley, these two caves are for sale!
Estimated at 2.2 million euros, they constitute a single lot. “If we offer them together for sale, it is because these caves are close to each other (2 km separate them, editor’s note) and that they belong to the same person”, indicates Guillaume Denniel, who s specialized in the marketing of exceptional properties seven years ago.
An important heritage in which the caves, not always prehistoric by the way, occupy a place of choice: whether it is the Roque-Saint-Christophe, the cave of Carbonnières or the rock of Cazelle. “I also bought a number of caves not yet open to the public. Like the postman’s shelter in Tursac, to name just one,” he continues.
All of its sites see 500,000 visitors each year, including 20,000 for the “Sorcerer’s cave” and “the Cro-Magnon shelter. Enough to attract private buyers wishing to make a lucrative investment (entry tickets cost from 4 to 7.5 euros) but also to arouse the interest of the public authorities.
Jean-Max Touron explains that he has received proposals from several communities. “The department and the State are interested, but the estimate of the domains is slow in coming and I am not sure that their offer is up to my expectations”, he slips, highlighting the development work in security that he assumed to justify the sale price of the two assets. Contacted, the department of Dordogne and the regional management of cultural affairs of New Aquitaine have not yet reacted at the time of writing.
It was enough for Jean-Max to start acquiring caves in his turn. How many are there altogether? The interested party pretends not to remember. “You know, it’s complicated. For a place, you sometimes have to acquire several pieces of land belonging to a host of people,” he says, referring to a plot, in joint possession, where he had to sign a contract with seven different people. “Including the SNCF which had part of the influence,” he explains.
The man says he has received several purchase offers over the past week for the two caves he intends to get rid of. But real estate agents do not reveal the names of interested customers. “We will make sure that they respect this place steeped in history,” says Alexandre Denniel, associated with his brother. This is not their first “prehistoric” sale for the two men. »