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Grotte d'habitation et shelter sous rois de la Crouzade à Gruissan dans l'Aude

Patrimoine classé
Vestiges préhistoriques
Grotte
Abris sous roche
Aude

Grotte d'habitation et shelter sous rois de la Crouzade à Gruissan

    872 Le Rec
    11430 Gruissan
Grotte dhabitation et abri sous roche de la Crouzade à Gruissan
Grotte dhabitation et abri sous roche de la Crouzade à Gruissan
Grotte dhabitation et abri sous roche de la Crouzade à Gruissan
Grotte dhabitation et abri sous roche de la Crouzade à Gruissan
Grotte dhabitation et abri sous roche de la Crouzade à Gruissan
Grotte dhabitation et abri sous roche de la Crouzade à Gruissan
Grotte dhabitation et abri sous roche de la Crouzade à Gruissan
Grotte dhabitation et abri sous roche de la Crouzade à Gruissan
Grotte dhabitation et abri sous roche de la Crouzade à Gruissan
Crédit photo : Wikinade - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Antiquité
Haut Moyen Âge
Moyen Âge central
Bas Moyen Âge
Renaissance
Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
0
100
1800
1900
2000
42 000 ± 3 000 ans
Mosterian levels dated
1866
Site discovery
30 juin 1928
Historical monument classification
2016
Recapture of excavations
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Grotte d'habitation et shelter sous rois de la Crouzade (cad. C 150): classification by order of 30 June 1928

Key figures

Émile Pinchinat - Naturalist doctor Codiscoverer of the cave in 1866.
M. Portes - Pharmacist in Gruissan Codiscoverer of the site in 1866.
Théodore Rousseau - Archaeologist First excavations in 1874.
Théophile Héléna - Archaeologist Searches between 1912 and 1931.
Thibaud Saos - Contemporary archaeologist Directs the excavations since 2016.

Origin and history

The Crouzade Cave is a large limestone cavity in the Clape massif, classified as a historical monument since 1928. It is distinguished by the discovery of the first Azilian painted pebbles, although their dating was confirmed only after the work of Edward Piette at the Mas d'Azil. These paintings, combined with lithic tools, make it a key site for understanding prehistoric furniture art in Europe.

The cave was explored in 1866 by Pinchinat and Portes, then searched by Théodore Rousseau (1874) and Théophile Helena (1912-1931). Subsequent campaigns, notably those of Philippe Héléna (1946) and Thibaud Saos (since 2016), revealed successive occupations: Moustarian (42,000 years), Aurignacian, Gravettien, Magdalenian, Sauveterrian and Neolithic. Fossils of Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens were also exhumed.

Among the most recent in Europe are the monsterian levels of the Crouzade, dated to 42,000 ± 3,000 years. The site illustrates the transition between Neandertalians and Homo sapiens, as well as the evolution of the material cultures of Paleolithic. Recent excavations (since 2016) aim to refine the chronostratigraphy of the site, as evidenced by the publications of Saos et al. (2019).

External links