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Origin and history

The cave of Nero, also called Balm Nero, is a major prehistoric site located in the municipality of Soyons, in the department of Ardèche, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Discovered in 1869 by Ludovic-Napoleon Lepic and Jules Sonier de Lubac during a hunting game, she owes her name to the dog Nero, who first penetrated the cavity by a discreet entrance. The cave, dug in a limestone eminence overlooking the 95-metre Rhône valley, is part of a set of seven archaeological cavities of the Guercy greenhouse.

The first excavations, carried out in 1869, revealed a Mousterian lithic industry and a human occupation dating back to the Middle Paleolithic period. Several excavation campaigns followed in the 20th century, notably between 1915-1919 and the 1930s, but their results were little published. The scientific excavations of 1950 (published in 1951) and 1990-1991 (published in 1992) allowed us to specify the stratigraphy of the site, highlighting three phases of human occupation in the Paleolithic, framed by periods of use by large carnivores (bears, hyenas, felines).

The site delivered a remarkable lithic industry, with two Mossterian levels and a transition level named Neroien by Ludovic Slimak in 2004. This cultural faction, characterized by slender tools such as the "Tips of Soyons", is considered a transition industry between the Moustarian and the Aurignacian, potentially associated with Homo sapiens. The excavations of 1990-1991 also revealed two Neandertalian human teeth, dated from 71,000 to 57,000 years, the first evidence of the presence of Neandertalians in the Rhône Valley.

Ranked a historic monument in 1965 for its archaeological deposit, the cave was built and opened to the public in 1999. Visits, possible from April to October, include re-enactments of Neanderthal and prehistoric fauna (bears, lions, hyenas). The nearby site of the Renard Hole, also accessible, completes the discovery with its limestone concretions (stalactites, stalagmites) and traces of paleolithic occupation.

The Nero Cave thus illustrates the evolution of prehistoric cultures in south-eastern France, while offering an exceptional testimony of the interactions between humans and great predators during the Pleistocene. His study helped to enrich knowledge about the lithic transition industries and the coexistence between Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens in Europe.

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