The Cosquer Cave is located in the ''
Calanque de Morgiou
The Calanque de Morgiou is one of the biggest calanques located between Marseille and Cassis.
Formerly a fishing port, it is famous for the gigantic tuna fishing organized there in 1622, when the king Louis XIII paid a visit to Marseille. It s ...
'' in
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, near Cap Morgiou. The entrance to the
cave
A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...
is located underwater, due to the
Holocene
The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togethe ...
sea level rise
Globally, sea levels are rising due to human-caused climate change. Between 1901 and 2018, the globally averaged sea level rose by , or 1–2 mm per year on average.IPCC, 2019Summary for Policymakers InIPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cry ...
. The cave contains various prehistoric
rock art
In archaeology, rock art is human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type also ...
engravings. Its submarine entrance was discovered in 1985 by
Henri Cosquer, a professional diver. The underwater passage leading to the cave was progressively explored until 1990 by
cave diver
Cave-diving is underwater diving in water-filled caves. It may be done as an extreme sport, a way of exploring flooded caves for scientific investigation, or for the search for and recovery of divers or, as in the 2018 Thai cave rescue, other ...
s without the divers being aware of the
archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
character of the cave. It is only in the last period (1990-1991) of the progressive underwater explorations that the cave divers emerged in the non-submerged part of the cave. The prehistoric paintings were not immediately discovered by the divers to first emerge from the other side of the sump. The cave was named after Henri Cosquer, when its existence was made public in 1991, after that three divers became lost in the cave and died.
Description
The cave can now be accessed by divers through a long tunnel; the entrance is located below sea level, which has risen since the cave was inhabited. During the glacial periods of the
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
, the shore of the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
was several kilometers to the south and the sea level up to below the entrance of the cave.
Discovery and history
Henri Cosquer, a
professional diver
Professional diving is underwater diving where the divers are paid for their work. The procedures are often regulated by legislation and codes of practice as it is an inherently hazardous occupation and the diver works as a member of a team. Du ...
in
Cassis
Cassis (; Occitan: ''Cassís'') is a commune situated east of Marseille in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, whose coastline is known in English as the French Riviera, in Southern France. In 201 ...
, discovered the drowned entrance to the cave which had been indicated to him by a diver friend in 1985. That same year, he progressively explored the submersed gallery alone and then with a friend and
diving instructor
A diving instructor is a person who trains and usually also assesses competence of underwater divers. This includes freedivers, recreational divers including the subcategory technical divers, and professional divers which includes military, co ...
from his club until he reached the "''stratum''" (the part where the gallery narrows and turns 90° to open into the underground lake). Cosquer went back alone once in 1985, discovered the underground lake, but a lamp breakdown forced him to turn back and he was left with a good scare. In June 1990, Henri Cosquer asked for the help of two Belgian
cave divers, the brothers Bernard and Marc Van Espen, who had come to dive in Cassis. Following Cosquer's instructions, the two brothers found the entrance of the gallery at -37 metres at the foot of the Pointe de la Voile, near Cap Morgiou. They followed the ascending gallery, swimming slowly and carefully near the ceiling of the gallery to avoid lifting the particles of
silt
Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel when ...
and fine
clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4).
Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
ey
sediment
Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand an ...
s covering the floor in order to not compromise the underwater visibility (to avoid
silt out
A silt out or silt-out is a situation when underwater visibility is rapidly reduced to functional zero by disturbing fine particulate deposits on the bottom or other solid surfaces. This can happen in scuba and surface supplied diving, or in ROV ...
). They arrive at the underground lake topped by the air bell seen by Cosquer in 1985. Their
guide line
A distance line, penetration line, cave line or guide line is an item of diving equipment used by Scuba diving, scuba divers as a means of returning to a safe starting point in conditions of low visibility, water currents or where pilotage is di ...
being too short, Bernard and Marc Van Espen are forced to turn back in order to exit safely by following their guide line towards the entrance of the gallery without being able to emerge in the bell.
At this stage, the non-submerged part of the cave has still not been explored.
In June 1991, Marc Van Espen is back in Cassis and on June 24 he dives again with Henri Cosquer, both of them determined to finally go to the end of this cave. On this occasion, Marc Van Espen achieves the installation of the last section of the guide line essential to the safety of the progression in the immersed part of the cave.
Their incursion into the cave only lasts about thirty minutes and only allows them to briefly explore the first room to which the
sump
A sump is a low space that collects often undesirable liquids such as water or chemicals. A sump can also be an infiltration basin used to manage surface runoff water and recharge underground aquifers. Sump can also refer to an area in a cave ...
gives direct access. A few days later, on July 9, 1991, Cosquer decides to go back to explore the cave to estimate its extent in company of friends and instructors of his
diving club: Cendrine Cosquer (his niece), Yann Gogan and Pascale Oriol.
It was during this dive that a more detailed exploration of the unflooded part of the cave was carried out. Yann Gogan then saw the outline of a hand on a wall, while Pascale Oriol put forward the hypothesis of a
cave painting
In archaeology, Cave paintings are a type of parietal art (which category also includes petroglyphs, or engravings), found on the wall or ceilings of caves. The term usually implies prehistoric origin, and the oldest known are more than 40,000 ye ...
.
This discovery, as disconcerting as it was unexpected, prompted the "team of four" to return and actively search for other traces. Several dives in July and August 1991 enabled them to discover the cave paintings and to make films and photos with the help of Thierry Pelissier and Gilles Sourice (Fanny Broadcast – Les films du soleil).
On September 1, 1991, there was a triple fatal accident in the cave. Three divers from
Grenoble
lat, Gratianopolis
, commune status = Prefecture and commune
, image = Panorama grenoble.png
, image size =
, caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...
did not find the exit of the access gallery (175 m). Henri and Yann participated in the recovery of the bodies of the three victims in the gallery.
Two days later, on 3 September 1991, Henri declared the cave to the Maritime Affairs Department in
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
.
The file was transmitted to the Direction des recherches archéologiques sous-marines (DRASM) and then to the Service régional de l'archéologie (Regional Archaeological Service) under the
Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to:
*Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania)
* Ministry of Culture (Algeria)
*Ministry of Culture (Argentina)
*Minister for the Arts (Australia)
*Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)
* Ministry of ...
.
An expertise took place from 18 to 20 September 1991, with the assistance of the DRASM vessel, the Archéonaute. It was conducted by Jean Courtin, a French
prehistorian
Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...
and experienced diver, and
Jean Clottes
Jean Clottes is a prominent French prehistorian. He was born in the French Pyrenees in 1933["Jean C ...](_blank)
, a French specialist in
cave art.
When the discovery was announced, doubts were raised about the authenticity of the figures. Various French prehistorians, such as Brigitte and Gilles Delluc or Denis Vialou, expressed reservations.
In June 1992, a new mission allowed, among other things, the shooting of a film entitled "The Secret of the Cosquer Cave".
From 2001 to 2005, five programmed archaeological research operations were organised under the responsibility of Luc Vanrell (IMMADRAS (Société de travaux sous marins) / DRAC PACA / LAMPEA (LAboratoire Méditerranéen de Préhistoire Europe Afrique)), then five others from 2010 to 2015 (no operation in 2012) under the same direction, with the collaboration of Michel Olive (DRAC PACA / LAMPEA).
The
Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to:
*Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania)
* Ministry of Culture (Algeria)
*Ministry of Culture (Argentina)
*Minister for the Arts (Australia)
*Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)
* Ministry of ...
and Henri Cosquer are involved in a dispute, which is based on the law on preventive archaeology of 17 January 2001, which grants the inventor compensation – a lump-sum payment or a thirty-year profit-sharing scheme – paid by the operator on the basis of the evaluation of the archaeological interest of the cave.
Henri Cosquer also claimed a reward and the recovery of part of the proceeds from the sale of books of photographs of the cave.
Prehistoric paintings
![Prehistoric Hand Outline Cosquer Cave](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Prehistoric_Hand_Outline_Cosquer_Cave.JPG)
Four fifths of the cave, including any cave wall art, were permanently or periodically submerged and destroyed by sea water. Nearly 500 instances of cave art remain
which date back to two distinct periods during the
Upper Paleolithic
The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories coin ...
. The first phase, from around 27,000 years
BP (the
Gravettian
The Gravettian was an archaeological industry of the European Upper Paleolithic that succeeded the Aurignacian circa 33,000 years BP. It is archaeologically the last European culture many consider unified, and had mostly disappeared by 2 ...
Era), is represented by art consisting of 65
hand stencils
In archaeology, Cave paintings are a type of parietal art (which category also includes petroglyphs, or engravings), found on the wall or ceilings of caves. The term usually implies prehistoric origin, and the oldest known are more than 40,000 y ...
, 44 in black and 21 in red. Art from the more recent period dates to 19,000 years BP (the
Solutrean
The Solutrean industry is a relatively advanced flint tool-making style of the Upper Paleolithic of the Final Gravettian, from around 22,000 to 17,000 BP. Solutrean sites have been found in modern-day France, Spain and Portugal.
Details
T ...
Era) and features much more complex depictions of various animals and human figures. In total there are 177 animals drawings found in the cave these include 63
horses
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...
, 28
ibex
An ibex (plural ibex, ibexes or ibices) is any of several species of wild goat (genus ''Capra''), distinguished by the male's large recurved horns, which are transversely ridged in front. Ibex are found in Eurasia, North Africa and East Africa. ...
, 17
deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...
, 10
bison
Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised.
Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North Ame ...
, and 7
aurochs
The aurochs (''Bos primigenius'') ( or ) is an extinct cattle species, considered to be the wild ancestor of modern domestic cattle. With a shoulder height of up to in bulls and in cows, it was one of the largest herbivores in the Holocen ...
. There is also the more unusual depiction of 16 marine animals including 9
seals
Seals may refer to:
* Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly:
** Earless seal, or "true seal"
** Fur seal
* Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...
and 3
great auks as well as some
jellyfish
Jellyfish and sea jellies are the informal common names given to the medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, a major part of the phylum Cnidaria. Jellyfish are mainly free-swimming marine animals with umbrella- ...
and various figures which could be either
fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
or
ceteceans. Of the human figures there are numerous sexual symbols but also one example of "the killed man" motif which can be seen in other caves such as at
Lascaux
Lascaux ( , ; french: Grotte de Lascaux , "Lascaux Cave") is a network of caves near the village of Montignac, in the department of Dordogne in southwestern France. Over 600 parietal wall paintings cover the interior walls and ceilings of ...
.
See also
*
List of Stone Age art
This is a descriptive list of Stone Age art, the period of prehistory characterised by the widespread use of stone tools. This article contains, by sheer volume of the artwork discovered, a very incomplete list of the works of the painters, sculpt ...
*
Great auk
The great auk (''Pinguinus impennis'') is a species of flightless alcid that became extinct in the mid-19th century. It was the only modern species in the genus ''Pinguinus''. It is not closely related to the birds now known as penguins, wh ...
(in cave art)
References
Further reading
* Jean Clottes, Jean Courtin, ''La grotte Cosquer'', Seuil, 1994, (French)
* Jean Clottes, Jean Courtin, Luc Vanrell, ''Cosquer redécouvert'', Seuil, 2005, (French)
* The Cave Beneath the Sea: Paleolithic Images at Cosquer by Jean Clottes and Jean Courtin (1996) Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York English translation by Marilyn Garner from the French edition
*
*
*
*
External links
Cosquer’s CaveGrotto Cosquer
Prehistory and coastal karst area: Cosquer Cave and the “Calanques” of Marseille* Official French Ministry of Culture pages o
Submarine archaeology*
The Cosquer CavePrehistoric Images and Medicines Under the Sea by Jean Clottes, Jean Courtin and Luc Vanrell
{{Authority control
Prehistoric sites in France
Caves of France
Rock art in France
Caves containing pictograms in France
Landforms of Bouches-du-Rhône
Tourist attractions in Bouches-du-Rhône
Prehistoric art in France
Landforms of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Massif des Calanques