Prehistoric cave for sale

2004-01-05 20:03

Perigueux, France - Looking to buy in southwest France? A retired farmer in the Dordogne region is selling his prehistoric cave adorned with drawings for just one million euros ($1.3m).

"I'm 76 years old and I can't show people around anymore. I can't go up and down the steps," Ernest Paluzzano, who has shown his "Grotte du Sorcier" to thousands of tourists over the years, told AFP on Monday.

In 1969, Paluzzano, a farmer of Italian descent, bought the site in the town of Saint-Cirq, which owes its name - "the sorcerer's cave" - to a drawing of a human figure detailing the face, back and limbs.

The cave, discovered in 1952 by a dentist and amateur archaeologist, is home to drawings dating back to the Magdalenian period, or between 22 000 and 15 000 years BC, according to French experts.

Paluzzano told AFP he had received a barrage of telephone calls from interested buyers since he posted a "for sale" sign near the entrance to his cave a few days ago.

- AFP