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Caves and shelters in France

Neandertal men, then homo-sapiens and especially Magdalenians, have always been sheltered in the natural habitats of caves and rock shelters. Archaeologists find many traces of these prehistoric habitats accumulated in successive layers.

It is in these caves that we find ornaments as in the caves of Lascaux, Chauvet. All these testimonies take the form of drawings, paintings, engravings, sculptures executed on the walls.


Sélection de 8 caves and sub-rock shelters sur 138 en France

Cave in Margot in Thorigné-en-Charnie
Ornate cave
53270 Thorigné-en-Charnie

The Cave in Margot, located in Thorigné-en-Charnie in Mayenne, is an adorned Paleolithic archaeological site, famous for its rock paintings and its local legend of the Margot fairy.
Sainte-Reine cave in Pierre-la-Treiche
Prehistoric cave
54200 Pierre-la-Treiche

The Sainte-Reine Cave in Pierre-la-Treiche, listed as a historic monument in 1910, is a major prehistoric site in the Great East. This archaeological deposit, the second largest natural cavity of Meurthe-et-Moselle, houses remains of animals and prehistoric tools in a 1560-metre karst network.
Feigneux tomb cave
Cave
60800 Feigneux

The sepulchral cave of Feigneux, classified as a Historical Monument, is a neolithic funeral site located in the Oise, in the Hauts-de-France region, reflecting ancient mortuary practices.
Troglodytic site of Jonas in Saint-Pierre-Colamine
Cave and abyss
63610 Saint-Pierre-Colamine

The caves of Jonas, a 13th century medieval troglodytic habitat, are dug in a volcanic tuft cliff at Saint-Pierre-Colamine (Puy-de-Dôme). This fortified underground village housed up to 600 people, including monks, soldiers and peasants.
Sasiiloaga Cave

64470 Ossas-Suhare

The Sasisiloaga Cave, located in Ossas-Suhare, New Aquitaine, is a prehistoric site of the Upper Paleolithic with rock paintings classified as Historic Monument since 1953.
Grotte Etcheberriko-Kharbia

64470 Camou-Cihigue

The Echeberriko-Kharbia Cave, located in Camou-Cihigue, New Aquitaine, is a prehistoric site adorned with the Upper Paleolithic, classified historical monument for its Magdalenian rock paintings.
Prehistoric cave called Gandon-Lassus Shelter

64490 Aydius

The Gandon-Lassus Shelter is a prehistoric protohistoric cave located in Aydius, New Aquitaine, famous for its unique rock art in the north of the Pyrenees, dating back to the bronze and iron ages.
Bourrouilla Cave

64270 Arancou

Bourrouilla Cave, located in Arancou, New Aquitaine, is a major prehistoric site of the Magdalenian and Mesolithic periods, rich in archaeological remains.