Timeline

Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The balm of Oullins, also known as the balm of Oulen, is a prehistoric cave discovered in 1896 by Dr Paul Raymond. It is located in the communes of Labastide-de-Virac (Ardèche) and Le Garn (Gard), in the gorges of the Ardèche, 220 metres above sea level. The cavity, accessible by a large porch of 50 meters wide and 15 meters high, houses parietal engravings in an entrance hall and paintings in a deeper room, disobstructed later. These works date mainly from the Upper Paleolithic, with stylized representations of mammoths.

The cave was occupied from the Middle Paleolithic to the Neolithic, offering a major stratigraphy for the study of the Upper Paleolithic in the Rhône valley, comparable to that of the cave of the Salpêtrière. Jean Combier's excavations revealed a higher post-Soltrean level, called "Rhodanian", although this classification remains pending due to lack of confirmation. Recent dates, led by Frédéric Bazile (CNRS), have located the upper Solutrean between 21,000 and 20,000 years before the present.

Classified as a historic monument in 1911, the cave has been protected by a grid since 1981 and integrated into the National Nature Reserve of the gorges of the Ardèche. Its access is forbidden to the public to preserve the remains. Archaeological research underlines its importance in understanding prehistoric human occupations in this region, marked by exceptional rock engravings and paintings.

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