caves of Arcy-sur-Cure

The caves of Arcy-sur-Cure are a series of caves located on the commune of Arcy-sur-Cure, Burgundy, France. Some of them contained archaeological artefacts, from the Mousterian to Gallo-Roman times. Some hold remarkable parietal art, the second oldest presently known after those of the Chauvet Cave. Another notable characteristic of these caves is the time-long series of pollen, related to determined and consistent archaeological levels. Between 1947 and 1963, they were searched by the French prehistorians Arlette and André Leroi-Gourhan. Listed monument historique (Heritage Monument) in 1992, they are partially open to the public.

Arcy-sur-Cure is 30 km (19 mi) south-east of Auxerre, in the Yonne departement. The caves are 1.3 km (0.81 mi) south of Arcy-sur-Cure, on the left bank of the river Cure. At this place the river has meandered through the coral limestone substrate, creating a valley bordered by crests standing 125 m (410 ft) up from the present river bed. The caves are in a meander and on the outer side of it where the flow is at its strongest. Most of them are south-orientated, with the most western ones slightly turned towards the south-east. At that place the erosional valley shows very steep sides, in some parts akin to cliffs. Several caves are distributed along some 800 m (2,600 ft) of the valley's side, at various levels. Following its inhabitants from the Lower Palaeolithic culture in the Pleistocene era, the caves have sheltered Neanderthals from the Middle Palaeolithic (Mousterian and Châtelperronian); those have left behind them circular huts supported by mammoth tusks. Modern humans followed, with Aurignacians, Gravettians, Proto-Solutreans and Magdalenians. All in all the caves were inhabited up to the Middle Ages. They are privately owned by Mr. Gabriel de la Varende, who allows and has actively supported archaeologic research from the beginning. Originally open at both ends, collapsing ground closed one of the caves when the underground water flow sharply diminished. This cave now ends with basins at ground level formed by limestone deposits left by the water. There are several lakes.

Archaeological site data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).