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  2. Patrimoine
  3. Occitanie
  4. Gard
  5. 30760 Aiguèze

  6. Cave at points of Aiguèze

 Cave at points of Aiguèze dans le Gard

Patrimoine classé
Vestiges préhistoriques
Grotte
Grotte ornée
Gard

Cave at points of Aiguèze

    Le Bourg
    30760 Aiguèze
Grotte aux points dAiguèze
Grotte aux points dAiguèze
Grotte aux points dAiguèze
Grotte aux points dAiguèze
Grotte aux points dAiguèze
Grotte aux points dAiguèze
Grotte aux points dAiguèze
Grotte aux points dAiguèze
Grotte aux points dAiguèze
Grotte aux points dAiguèze
Grotte aux points dAiguèze
Crédit photo : Thilo Parg - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Paléolithique
Mésolithique
Néolithique
Âge du Bronze
Âge du Fer
Antiquité
Haut Moyen Âge
Moyen Âge central
Bas Moyen Âge
Renaissance
Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1505000 av. J.-C.
1504900 av. J.-C.
…
0
1900
2000
Paléolithique supérieur
Period of creation of paintings
Fin XVIe–milieu XIXe siècle
Mining
7 novembre 1993
Discovery of paintings
1995
Authentication and classification
2002
Identification of dermatoglyphs
2011–en cours
Dating Ornate Caves Project (DGO)
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

The cave at the Points, composed of a gallery of a length of 110 meters, located in the middle part of the Gorges de l'Ardèche, on the right bank of the Ardèche, in front of the rocky structure called "the Cathedral", in the bottom of the plot n° 323, section A of the cadastre of the commune, as shown on the plans annexed to the decree: classification by decree of 18 November 2024

Key figures

Éliette Brunel - Speleologist Co-discovery of paintings in 1993.
Jean-Marie Chauvet - Speleologist Codiscoverer, known for the Chauvet cave.
Christian Hillaire - Speleologist Codiscoverer of painted signs.
Jean Clottes - Prehistory Authenticated the paintings in 1995.
Julien Monney - Researcher Directs the DGO project since 2011.

Origin and history

The cave at the Pointes d'Aiguèze, originally called the Yves Cave until 1993, is an adorned cavity of the Upper Paleolithic in the gorges of the Ardèche, in the commune of Aiguèze (Gard, Occitanie). It opens at 95 m above sea level, on the right bank of the Ardèche, facing a rock formation called the Cathedral. Its low porch (3 m high, 13 m wide) served as a shelter, as evidenced by a dry stone wall, and underwent mining between the late 16th and mid 19th centuries, altering its original morphology.

The cave, 108 m long, houses an exclusive parietal ensemble of red ocre, discovered in 1993 by Éliette Brunel, Jean-Marie Chauvet and Christian Hillaire. These paintings, located at 75 m from the entrance, represent animals (three bouquetins, a horse, a bison), geometric signs (bilobates, punctuations) and 59 palm points — prints of straight hands with dermatoglyphs (palmary papillary tracks), identified in 2002. These motifs share stylistic similarities with those of the Chauvet Cave, located 15 km upstream.

Classified as a historical monument since 1995 (and then by a new decree in 2024), the cave has been the subject of multidisciplinary research since 2011 as part of the project Datation Grottes Ornées (DGO), led by Julien Monney. It includes chiroscopic analyses of the prints and studies of its prehistoric occupation, complicated by the embankments from past extractions. Closed to the public, it remains a key site for understanding regional parietal art and paleolithic representation techniques.

The authentication of paintings by Jean Clottes in 1995 marked a turning point in its history, confirming its archaeological importance. Old mining activities, though disruptive, also offer clues to the site's post-prehistoric uses, between resource exploitation and pastoral refuge. Its karst environment and its strategic location in the gorges make it a witness to human interactions with this landscape over several millennia.

External links

Page Wikipedia
Page Monumentum