Lussac-les-Châteaux (French pronunciation: [lysak le ʃɑto]) is a commune in the Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France.

The importance of the prehistoric art at Lussac is evidenced by the presence of numerous archaeological artefacts in the Museum of National Antiquities at Saint-Germain-en-Laye.

Among the items found by A. Brouillet were numerous engraved limestone slabs, a barbed arrow, a decorated awl, and a fragment of bone with a drawing of a horse and an ox.

This cave was occupied from the middle Magdalenian period, but the discovery of Roman tiles, coins, and a medieval seal shows it was a haven throughout history.

'The Hermitage,' a cave occupied by the Neanderthals, was excavated between 1864 and 1936 by A. Brouillet, the Abbé Breuil, Leon Pericard and Stéphane Lwoff.

In addition to drawings of animals, there are a series of human figures (something rare for this time), including the bodies of pregnant women and male faces.

The limestone tablets found at Lussac became reference points for researchers on prehistory, and have the same importance as the cave paintings of Lascaux.

The site was therefore already inhabited in the Magdalenian period 17,000 years ago as evidenced by the many slabs of carved limestone found in these caves.

Between about 6000 and 4000 years ago, tribes scattered along the banks of the Vienne constructed megalithic tombs, of which little remains today.

The fragmentation of central power necessitated the establishment of fortresses, including on the provincial borders, to fight against land-hungry neighbouring warlords.

The Lord of Lussac was a vassal of the Count de la Marche (Limousin) and had to defend this border area against Poitou.

The Breton John Kerlouët and Louis de Saint Julien Trimouille, lord of Lusignan, had occupied La Roche-Posay and Saint-Savin, a few kilometres from Poitiers.

The planned attack failed when, thinking they had been detected by the enemy, Chandos' force retreated towards the bridge across the Vienne at Lussac, along the route to Poitiers through Chauvigny.

The castle was sacked by the troops of the Admiral de Coligny in 1569, and then dismantled by the people, who used its stones to build houses.