🌊 Cosquer Cave: A Prehistoric Underwater Treasure

⏳ 25,000 years ago, during the last ice age, the Calanques were not like they are today: the sea level was 120 meters lower and the current land was vast, cold plains... frequented by aurochs, bison, ibex, but also penguins and seals!

🖼️ These animals form an incredible bestiary painted and engraved on the walls of Cosquer Cave, a prehistoric sanctuary submerged at a depth of 37 meters, near Cap Morgiou.

🤿 A Unique Discovery

🔎 In 1985, Henri Cosquer, a diver from Marseille, discovered the underwater entrance to a 175-meter tunnel leading to a decorated cave. Officially recognized in 1991, it remains the only known underwater Paleolithic cave in the world!
🧊 Inaccessible for around 9,000 years due to rising water levels, it reveals a little-known aspect of prehistory in the Calanques.

🎨 A 27,000-year-old art gallery

🐴 Nearly 500 depictions are recorded on the walls:
177 animals from 11 species: horses, deer, aurochs, seals, fish...
Marine animals never seen elsewhere in cave art: penguins, jellyfish, cetaceans

👣 Children's and adults' hands, negative or positive
🔺 More than 200 geometric signs, some of which are still mysterious...
🧍‍♂️ There's even a man with a seal's head: proof of the sacred bond between man and the sea.

⚠️ A heritage in peril

🌊 The sea is rising slowly (about 2.5 mm per year), threatening this fragile site. To preserve it, a comprehensive 3D survey was launched in 2017.
🏛️ In 2022, the Cosquer Méditerranée replica opened in Marseille, offering an immersive visit to admire this masterpiece of humanity without risking damage.

🎟️ A journey back 35,000 years awaits you: grotte-cosquer.com

⁉️ Did you know?
The Cosquer, Triperie, Figuier, and Renard caves and their networks, as well as the archaeological remains they contain, were listed as historical monuments by decree of September 2, 1992.

Discover the mystery of the Cosquer cave:

Translated by Google •

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Details

Informations

Elevation 70 m

Weather

Monday 8 December

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Max wind speed: 25.0 km/h

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Location: Cassis, Marseille, Var, Provence-Alpes-Côte D'Azur, France

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