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All French heritage classified by regions, departments and cities

  2. Patrimoine
  3. Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
  4. Ardèche
  5. 07700 Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche

  6. Cave of the Two Openings in Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche

 Cave of the Two Openings in Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche en Ardèche

Patrimoine classé
Vestiges préhistoriques
Grotte
Grotte préhistorique
Ardèche

Cave of the Two Openings in Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche

    Escrouzille
    07700 Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche
Grotte des Deux Ouvertures à Saint-Martin-dArdèche
Grotte des Deux Ouvertures à Saint-Martin-dArdèche
Grotte des Deux Ouvertures à Saint-Martin-dArdèche
Crédit photo : JYB Devot - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Époque contemporaine
2000
23 décembre 1985
Discovery of parietal ornaments
1987
First search campaign
10 août 1990
Historical monument classification
Fin du XIXe siècle
First mention of the cave
2007
Resumption of paleontological studies
Depuis 2008
Project *Datation Caves Ornates* (DGO)
20 mai 2025
New classification order
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

The parcel section A No. 2099 of the cadastre, in its entirety, situated at the place known as "Escrouzille", Route des Gorges, housing the Huchard Cave, also called Ranc Pointu No. 1, the Cave of the Figuier, the Cave Sombre and the Cave of the Two Openings, as coloured in pink on the plan annexed to the decree: classification by order of 20 May 2025

Key figures

Membres du GRESS - Discoverers of ornaments Disobedience and discovery in 1985.
J.-L. Porte et B. Gély - Archaeologists First search campaign in 1987.
G. Onoratini - Archaeologist Surveys under the porch in 1990.
M. Philippe - Researcher in paleontology Resumed in 2007.
Julien Monney - DGO Project Manager Multidisciplinary research since 2008.

Origin and history

The cave of Les Deux Ouvertures is an adorned cave located in Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche, in the department of Ardèche, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. It is part of a set of six adorned caves attributed to the Upper Paleolithic, located at the exit of the gorges of the Ardèche. The first part of the cave was known since the end of the 19th century, but its deep area and parietal ornaments were not discovered until 1985 by the members of the GRESS, after a one-year disobedience.

In 1987, a first search and survey campaign was conducted by J.-L. Porte and B. Gély, followed by surveys in 1990 by G. Onoratini. Research resumed in 2007 under the direction of Philippe, with a paleontological and archeozoological approach. Since 2008, the cave has been studied as part of the project Datation Grottes Ornées (DGO), led by Julien Monney, including 3D surveys, geomorphological and archaeological studies.

Before being a human site of the Upper Paleolithic, the cave was home to cave bears. It contains parietal engravings, red and black lines, as well as human remains. Classified as a historic monument since 1990, it is not open to the public. A new classification order in 2025 replaced the previous one, protecting a set of nearby caves (Huchard, Figuier, Sombre).

The cave belongs to the culture of the ancient Solutrean and is associated with other sites such as the Castanié caves, the Olive tree and the Ranc-Pointu. Ongoing multidisciplinary research (3D numericalization, ichnology) aims to better understand his occupation and parietal art. The property belongs to the commune of Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche.

External links

Page Wikipedia
Page Monumentum