<< Our Photo Pages >> Cave of the Menhir - Cave or Rock Shelter in France in Languedoc:Gard (30)
Submitted by ocdolmen on Wednesday, 18 November 2009 Page Views: 4810
Natural PlacesSite Name: Cave of the Menhir Alternative Name: la caverne du MenhirCountry: France
NOTE: This site is 0.213 km away from the location you searched for.
Département: Languedoc:Gard (30) Type: Cave or Rock Shelter
Nearest Village: Blandas
Latitude: 43.911840N Longitude: 3.512590E
Condition:
| 5 | Perfect |
| 4 | Almost Perfect |
| 3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
| 2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
| 1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
| 0 | No data. |
| -1 | Completely destroyed |
| 5 | Superb |
| 4 | Good |
| 3 | Ordinary |
| 2 | Not Good |
| 1 | Awful |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
| 4 | Short walk on a footpath |
| 3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
| 2 | A long walk |
| 1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
| 4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
| 3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
| 2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
| 1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
| 0 | no data |
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Exceptional discovery in the South of France: the Cave of the menhir, municipality of Blandas, Languedoc - Roussillon region The menhir which is has the origin of this discovery was found by speleologists affiliated to the French Union of speleology. For several years, they work voluntarily in the karstic knowledge of regions limestones of Causses and Garrigues.
During the investigation of this cavity they discovered a block, taken in completions, the morphology of which called reminded them that of a menhir. They then indicated their find to the Regional Direction of Cultural affairs of Languedoc - Roussillon region (Ministry for the Arts). From then on, expertise managed on the site and realized by an agent of the Ministry for the Arts confirmed first observations and clarified them by showing that the archaeological context was in place and that it allowed to date with certainty this monolith of the end of the Neolithic ( 5000 BP).
Unique fact in this region. It was also shown that the natural evolution of the context threatened the conservation of this exceptional detail. It is for that reason that an operation of archaeological excavation, placed under the responsibility of an agent of the DRAC-LR, was organized in association with the potholers speleologists and a specialist of geomorphology of the INRAP.
These works allowed to analyze the context of deposit of this detail which, during the taking, turned out to be an old engraved stele of more than 5000 years. To assure the conservation, the monolith was deposited in the Vigan museum (Gard). It is there that it must soon, after study, be presented to the public in closer of the place of discovery. In the subterranean gallery become accessible having been closed since the end of the neolithic, the archaeologists went from discovery to discovery. They fell at first on an important deposit of artefacts left with the state of desolation.
There was there a big number of vases intended for the recovery and for the stocking of the subterranean waters. But there were also numerous human bones. They give evidence of the use of the cave as place of grave. Several organizations as a lane of traffic, the walls of terraces and division of the space were able to be observed. Finally, walls present numerous sooty tracks a part of which is connected to the use of prehistoric lightings, probably torches.
The other tracks correspond to several organized panels which regroup linear simplistic drawings situated among 4 and 6 metres in height with regard to the ground. They were so drawn by using ladders or scaffolds. Caves where the people of the neolithic left their marks, either because they extracted from it some water, some clay, the calcite for their fineries or rundown in their ceramic, or because they used it of place of grave, one listed some of it in France: a ten no more during last hundred years two of which to Blandas. But what they contained does not have anything to see with what delivers the " Cave of the Menhir ".
Once the stele carefully clear and transported in the Native of the Cévennes du Vigan museum, the archaeologists fall on fitted out aisles, vases for the recovery of the water, the human bones and especially the interlacings of lines in the complex geometry.
Measures of putting in a safe place were taken awaiting for the implementation of a program of search and conservation. This one should allow better to understand the use of the cavity as cistern and as grave and to analyze drawings voluntarily drawn on walls 5000 years ago to try to clarify their meaning.
This symbolic expression which confuses the researcher, has it a link with the graves that shelter the cavity? What are going to teach him the dozens of found objects, their positions? Why was access to the network blocked by means of an ingenious stratagem?
The site is protected as there are Ministry of Culture excavations going on.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Location given is for Blandas only, if you have a more accurate location please let us know
Note: A translation of what the archaeologists are calling an 'exceptional discovery' at this unique site in Languedoc region
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