Cosquer Cave
Grotte Cosquer · Cape Morgiou Painted Cave
Gravettian–Solutrean ~27–19 ka BP·Gravettian–Solutrean coastal·🇫🇷 Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Bouches-du-Rhône, France
Kleber Rossillon & Région Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur / Sources 3D MC · CC BY-SA 4.0
About
About Cosquer Cave
Submerged Gravettian–Solutrean painted cave whose entrance lies 37 m below sea level in the Calanque de Morgiou, created when sea level was 120 m lower at 27,000 BP. Surviving upper gallery 175 m inside holds 177 figures — horses, bison, aurochs, ibex, chamois, three great-auk penguins and jellyfish, plus 65 hand stencils. Discovered 1985 by diver Henri Cosquer, dated 27–19 ka. Rising seas sealed entrance around 8,000 BP. Replica Cosquer Méditerranée opened 2022 in Marseille.
Why it mattersOnly Paleolithic marine fauna art (great auk, seal); sea-level archive for Mediterranean.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Penguin/jellyfish identification as great auk debated
- 02Why marine species dominate vs Lascaux bovids
Theories
- 01Coastal refugium art marking sea-resource cosmology
- 02Sea-level rise folk memory equivalent
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.27,000–19,000 BP
- Period
- Gravettian–Solutrean ~27–19 ka BP
- Culture
- Gravettian–Solutrean coastal
- Builders
- Gravettian and Solutrean groups of Provence
- Purpose
- Coastal sanctuary recording marine megafauna before post-glacial submergence
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
c.27,000–19,000 BP
Initial construction
c. 1561 CE
Abandonment
On the ground
Structures & features
43.2050° N · 5.4500° E · -37 m · 2 mapped features
Great Auk Panel
painting panelThree alleged great auk birds
43.2051° N · 5.4502° EHand Stencil Chamber
painting panel65 red and black hand stencils
43.2049° N · 5.4498° E
Gallery