A short history of the excavations in the Bize caves...

Many of the Bize inhabitants know the importance of the caves of Las Fonts, but their knowledge of these and the work involved is sometimes incomplete. The role of these caves in the development of prehistoric science, of which these were one of the earliest sites, was generally under-estimated. There were a small number, who knew that the name of their village was referred to in the major museums of the world, where some of the objects found at Las Fonts are displayed: Institut de Paléontologie Humaine in Paris, Musée de Menton, Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle de Marseille, Musée d'Archéologie Nationale de Saint Germain en Laye, Musée de l'Ermitage in Saint Petersbourg, British Museum, Museums in Copenhagen, Lund, Prague, Hamburg...

4th cover. Click to enlarge.

Roger Monié, a resident of Bize, is devoted to collecting pieces scattered around, assisted by one of the most accomplished scientists, Dominique Sacchi, who is Emeritus research professor at CNRS and president of the Aude Group for Prehistoric Research. A brochure has been produced called "A short history of the excavations in the Bize caves", published by the Town Hall, priced 5 €, with the profits going to the social action committee.

Above all, this brochure is of interest to the inhabitants of Bize, who want to know about their history, but also to those, who come to Bize to visit or to stay, who are curious to discover more and have some affinity for this part of the country. The brochure will also be useful to specialists and scientists due to its abundant bibliography and the references it contains.

These caves have been visited and excavated numerous times since 1826. These visits and excavations have sometimes been the subject of publications, which vary in completeness and detail. Many of the researchers of the 19th century thought that the Las Fonts caves were an exceptional site, which were filled with artefacts from between 80,000 and 10,000 years ago. The caves allowed flora to evolve, provided conditions for paleoclimatology, and cultural evolution during the time of the last glaciation.

These caves played a role in prehistoric science

The first scientific excavations were initiated by Paul Tournal.

Paul Tournal was the first known researcher to excavate the Bize caves, driven on by more than vague curiosity. Born in Narbonne in 1805, he left for Paris in 1823 to study pharmacy. Noted by his teachers for his average abilities, he linked up with the capital's scholars, who aroused his interest in geology and botany.

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Entry to the Ermite cave

In the region's caves, he sought proof that man existed 5000 or 6000 years ago, which is generally thought to be the literal interpretation of the period of Genesis.

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From 1827 to the First World War.

As well as the work at Bize, which spread across about two years (1826 - 1827), there were discovered "a succession of deposits marking both the presence of man and of the great carnivores, the bear and the hyena" (Dominique Sacchi). After several other publications on the subject, in 1834 Paul Tournal published "Note on the caves and remains in the Cesse valley, and observations of the human remains mixed with the remains of land mammals belonging to lost species." Signs of human existence in the company of great animals, which are now extinct, confirmed to him the existence of man some 40 millennia before our time. (...)

Special thanks to our translator, Sue Ackloo.

Last Updated (Wednesday, 08 September 2010 15:55)