Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Carpentier quarry, located in Abbeville in the Somme department, is a major prehistoric site of the Lower Paleolithic. Ranked a historic monument in 1983, it was exploited as a career before becoming a key place for archaeology. The excavations, carried out since the 19th century, and then in 1938, 2015 and 2016, brought to light acheulean bifaces and bones of large mammals, proving an ancient human occupation. The site played a central role in the demonstration of the existence of the antediluvian Man by Jacques Boucher de Perthes.

Acquired by the State in 1938 at the initiative of Léon Aufrère and Abbé Breuil, the quarry is distinguished by a stratigraphic cut of 20 m x 4 m, protected by a roof. The sediments, composed of white marnes, sands and gravels, preserved lithic tools, including two coarse punches typical of the Acheulean. Close to the Léon quarry (400 m), it illustrates the importance of Abbeville for research on human origins.

The site is today an exceptional testimony of the first human industries in Europe. The discoveries of Boucher de Perthes, published in Celtic and Antiquities (1847–64), are directly related. The quarry remains a place of study to understand the size techniques and environment of the Quaternary hominids. Its classification in 1983 highlights its heritage value for French prehistory.

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