<< Our Photo Pages >> Grottes d'Arcy-sur-Cure - Cave or Rock Shelter in France in Bourgogne:Yonne (89)
Submitted by TheCaptain on Tuesday, 19 March 2013 Page Views: 10058
Mesolithic, Palaeolithic and EarlierSite Name: Grottes d'Arcy-sur-CureCountry: France
NOTE: This site is 1.554 km away from the location you searched for.
Département: Bourgogne:Yonne (89) Type: Cave or Rock Shelter
Nearest Town: Auxerre Nearest Village: Arcy-sur-Cure
Latitude: 47.591579N Longitude: 3.766543E
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 |
Internal Links:
External Links:
I have visited· I would like to visit
aolson visited on 15th Jul 2020 - their rating: Cond: 2 Amb: 4 Access: 5 Fascinating to be able to see the oldest accessible cave paintings in Europe. Wonderfully helpful guide who knew our French was not up to snuff, so he would summarize often in English. The series of (inaccessible) caves along the Cure river are also interesting to visit with overviews of the archaeological history of each one and the important discoveries there.
TheCaptain saw from a distance on 4th Aug 2005 I drove past these caves, without realising what significance they have. If I had realised, I would have visited.
The largest cave is open to the public, but the rest, including the Renne Grotto and the Hyena Den Cave are protected as archaeologic sites.
The caves were used as shelter by Stone Age man and contained artefacts including animal and human bones, pottery shards and flint tools. In 1990, dozens of wall paintings from the middle and late Palaeolithic period were discovered hand prints and depictions of bears, mammoths and ibexes believed to be the second-oldest in the world after those of the Chauvet Grotto.
The grooved teeth and other ornaments found here in the 1950s and '60s have been interpreted as the handiwork of Neanderthals, perhaps 35,000 years old but possibly 45,000. No other Neanderthal site has produced anything similar, but debate continues as to whether Neanderthal man was capable of such work.
See www.grottes-arcy.net
Note: Part 1 of Noise: A Human History - Echoes in the Dark. Professor David Hendy visits the caves of Arcy-sur-Cure with musicologist Iegor Reznikoff to listen to evidence next to paintings of bison and birds.
You may be viewing yesterday's version of this page. To see the most up to date information please register for a free account.
Do not use the above information on other web sites or publications without permission of the contributor.
Click here to see more info for this site
Nearby sites
Click here to view sites on an interactive map of the areaKey: Red: member's photo, Blue: 3rd party photo, Yellow: other image, Green: no photo - please go there and take one, Grey: site destroyed
Download sites to:
KML (Google Earth)
GPX (GPS waypoints)
CSV (Garmin/Navman)
CSV (Excel)
To unlock full downloads you need to sign up as a Contributory Member. Otherwise downloads are limited to 50 sites.
Turn off the page maps and other distractions
Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
2.8km S 170° Camp Antique de Cora-Villaucerre Ancient Village or Settlement
3.0km S 187° Menhir dit la Grosse-Borne Standing Stone (Menhir)
9.6km NW 312° Les Champs-Guyots Burial Chamber or Dolmen
14.7km SSE 156° En-Pierrotte Burial Chamber or Dolmen
16.1km ENE 72° Tumulus de Tormancy Round Barrow(s)
18.2km ENE 65° Polissoir des Grandes Gueules Polissoir
18.9km NW 319° Jussy Site Archeologique Not Known (by us)
20.5km E 84° Menhir du Bois des Haies Standing Stone (Menhir)
23.7km E 81° Menhir de la Femme Blanche Standing Stone (Menhir)
28.1km NNW 345° Dolmen de Bleigny-le-Carreau Burial Chamber or Dolmen
28.6km SSW 208° Tannay Menhir Standing Stone (Menhir)
31.2km SSE 147° Roche aux Fées (Quarré-les-Tombes)* Rock Outcrop
31.4km SW 234° Pierre du sacrifice (Breugnon) Standing Stone (Menhir)
31.7km SW 233° La Pierrefiche Standing Stone (Menhir)
38.5km E 98° Menhir-Sainte-Christine* Standing Stone (Menhir)
39.2km SE 125° Pierre Pelot* Standing Stone (Menhir)
39.2km SE 125° Roche d'Arthur* Standing Stone (Menhir)
39.4km SE 130° Poron Meurger* Rock Art
39.7km NNW 331° Sur-les-Patureaux Burial Chamber or Dolmen
40.7km SSE 148° Dolmen de la Pierre-Plate* Burial Chamber or Dolmen
41.7km SSE 148° Chevresse Dolmen* Burial Chamber or Dolmen
41.9km NNW 335° Le Poirier Burial Chamber or Dolmen
42.4km ESE 116° Cimetière Menhir* Standing Stone (Menhir)
43.7km NNW 337° Les Groseillers Burial Chamber or Dolmen
45.3km NW 312° Menhir dit la Pierre-Fitte (Aillant-sur-Tholon) Standing Stone (Menhir)
View more nearby sites and additional images