Cosquer Cave
{{Short description|Cave and archaeological site in France}}
{{Expand French|topic=geo|Grotte Cosquer|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox ancient site
| name = Cosquer Cave
| native_name =
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| image = Panneau des chevaux - Cosquer Méditerranée.jpg
| image_size = 240
| alt = Cosquer Cave
| caption = The horse panel in Cosquer Cave
| map_type = France Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
| map_alt = Cosquer Cave in France
| map_caption = Location in Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, France
| map_size = 240
| coordinates = {{coord|43|12|10|N|5|26|57|E|display=inline,title}}
| location = Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, France
| type = Cave paintings
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| built = {{circa|27,000}} years ago
| abandoned = {{circa|19,000}} years ago
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| event =
| discovered = 9 July 1991 by Yann Gogan, Pascale Oriol, Cendrine and Henri Cosquer
| condition =
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Cosquer Cave ({{IPA|fr| kɔskɛʁ|}}) is located in the Calanque de Morgiou in Marseille, France, near Cap Morgiou. The entrance to the cave is located {{convert|37|m|ft|abbr=on}} underwater, due to the Holocene sea level rise. The cave contains various prehistoric rock art 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 divers, without the divers being aware of the archaeological 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 three divers became lost in the cave and died.{{cite web |url=http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/cosquer/acknowledgements.php |title=Cave Art Paintings of the Cosquer Cave |publisher= | website=bradshawfoundation.com |access-date=January 24, 2017}}
Description
The cave can now be accessed by divers through a {{convert|175|m|ft|abbr=on}} long tunnel; the entrance is located {{convert|37|m|ft|abbr=on}} below sea level, which has risen since the cave was inhabited. During the glacial periods of the Pleistocene, the shore of the Mediterranean was several kilometers to the south and the sea level up to {{convert|100|m|ft|abbr=on}} below the entrance of the cave.Billaud, Yves (2017). [https://books.google.com/books?id=Rk8mDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA333 Chapter 12 Western Mediterranean: Annex. Submerged Karst Structures of the French Mediterranean Coast: An Assessment]. pp. 333–340. In: Submerged Landscapes of the European Continental Shelf: Quaternary Paleoenvironments. John Wiley & Sons. {{ISBN|978-1-118-92213-2}}.{{cite book | author1=Nicholas C. Flemming | author2=Jan Harff | author3=Delminda Moura | author4=Anthony Burgess | author5=Geoffrey N. Bailey | date=7 August 2017 | title=Submerged Landscapes of the European Continental Shelf: Quaternary Paleoenvironments | publisher=John Wiley & Sons | pages=333–340 |isbn=978-1-118-92213-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rk8mDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA340}}
Discovery and history
Henri Cosquer, a professional diver from Cassis, discovered the submerged entrance to a cave in 1985, guided by a tip from a fellow diver.{{Cite book|first1=François|last1=Herbaux|title=Nos ancètres du midi – Enquêtes sur la préhistoire de Sigean à Menton|trans-title=Our ancestors of the south – Investigations into prehistory from Sigean to Menton|at=See 7. Morgiou, 127–144|publisher=Éditions Jeanne Laffitte|date=2005}} That year, he began exploring the underwater passage alone and later with a friend and diving instructor from his club. The passage narrowed and turned sharply before leading to an underground lake. On one solo dive, a malfunctioning lamp forced Cosquer to retreat, leaving him shaken.
In June 1990, Cosquer enlisted Belgian cave divers Bernard and Marc Van Espen, who located the entrance 37 meters below the Pointe de la Voile near Cap Morgiou. They followed the gallery carefully to avoid disturbing silt and reached the underground lake Cosquer had seen, but their guide line ran out, forcing them to turn back. At this point, the dry section of the cave remained unexplored.
In June 1991, Marc Van Espen returned and, on June 24, installed the final section of the guide line during a dive with Cosquer. Their exploration lasted only 30 minutes, providing a brief view of the first chamber beyond the submerged passage.{{Cite web |title=Vidéo : 30 ans après, les oubliés de la grotte Cosquer se retrouvent à Marseille |trans-title=Video: 30 years later, the forgotten of the Cosquer cave find themselves in Marseille |last1=Mildonian |first1=Laurence |last2=U. |first2=F. |work=LaProvence.com |date=16 September 2022 |access-date=19 October 2022 |url=https://www.laprovence.com/actu/en-direct/6901832/video-30-ans-apres-les-oublies-de-la-grotte-cosquer-se-retrouvent-a-marseille.html |language=fr|quote=Pascale Oriol, Yann Gogan, Cendrine Cosquer et Marc Van Espen se sont retrouvés à Marseille, plus de trente ans après la découverte de la grotte Cosquer. [Pascale Oriol, Yann Gogan, Cendrine Cosquer and Marc Van Espen met in Marseille, more than thirty years after the discovery of Cosquer Cave.]}}{{Cite web |title=Hippocampe, revue officielle de la LIFRAS, n° 137 |trans-title=Hippocampe, official journal of LIFRAS, n° 137 |last1=Van Espen |first1=Marc |work=lifras.be |date=1992 |access-date=6 September 2022 |url=https://www.lifras.be/ |language=Fr}}{{Cite web| last1=Lima| first1=Pedro| title=L’incroyable destin de la grotte Cosquer | trans-title=The incredible destiny of the Cosquer cave | work=FFESSM.fr | publisher=Fédération Française d'Études et de Sports Sous-Marins | access-date=2022-08-30| date=2022| url=https://ffessm.fr/actualites/l-incroyable-destin-de-la-grotte-cosquer}}
On July 9, 1991, Cosquer explored the cave further with his niece, Cendrine Cosquer, and diving club members Yann Gogan and Pascale Oriol. They examined the dry section in more detail and discovered what appeared to be a handprint on the wall, suggesting prehistoric art. This finding spurred several dives in July and August, leading to the discovery of additional cave paintings and the production of photographs and films with the help of Thierry Pelissier and Gilles Sourice.{{cite book| last1=Cosquer| first1=Henri| last2=Fettu| first2=Valérie| last3=Franco| first3=Bernard| date=1993| title=La Grotte Cosquer. Plongée dans la Préhistoire| trans-title=Cosquer Cave. Dive into prehistory| publisher=Solar|isbn=978-2-263-01943-2| location=Paris}}{{Cite web |title=La grotte Cosquer |trans-title=Cosquer Cave |last1=Van Espen |first1=Bernard |last2=Van Espen |first2=Marc |work=grottocenter.org |date=23 June 2001 |access-date=8 June 2022 |url=https://grottocenter.org/ui/documents/105862 }}{{Cite web| last1=Mildonian| first1=Laurence| date=2022-09-03| title=Marseille : ils sont les oubliés de la grotte Cosquer| trans-title=Marseille: they are the forgotten ones of the Cosquer cave| work=LaProvence.com| access-date=2022-09-04| url=https://www.laprovence.com/article/edition-marseille/6886760/ils-sont-les-oublies-de-la-grotte-cosquer.html}}
Tragedy struck on September 1, 1991, when three divers from Grenoble became lost in the access gallery and perished. Cosquer and Gogan helped recover their bodies.{{Cite web |first1=Gilles |last1=Gobillot |title=La grotte de la Triperie |trans-title=The cave of the Triperie |url=https://ascadplon.org/wordpress/2006/05/la-grotte-de-la-triperie/ |work=ASCEA Cadarache section Plongée |date=2006-05-21 |access-date=2022-08-24 |language=fr}} Two days later, on 3 September 1991, Cosquer declared the cave to the Maritime Affairs Department in Marseille.{{Cite journal |author1=Jean Clottes |author1-link=Jean Clottes |author2=Jean Courtin |author3=Luc Vanrell |title=La grotte Cosquer à Marseille |trans-title=The Cosquer Cave in Marseille |journal=Les dossiers d'archéologie |volume=324 |issue=Grottes ornées en France |date=2007 |pages=38–45 |url=https://www.dossiers-archeologie.com/numero-324/grottes-ornees-france/grotte-cosquer-a-marseille.22660.php#article_22660 |language=fr}}
The discovery was referred to the Regional Archaeological Service under the Ministry of Culture.{{Cite journal | first1=Jean |last1=Clottes |author1-link=Jean Clottes |first2=A. |last2=Beltrán |first3=Jean |last3=Courtin |first4=Henri |last4=Cosquer |title=La Grotte Cosquer (Cap Morgiou, Marseille) |trans-title=Cosquer Cave (Cap Morgiou, Marseille) |journal=Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française |volume=89 |issue=4 |date=1992 |pages=98–128 |url=http://www.persee.fr/doc/bspf_0249-7638_1992_num_89_4_10536? | language=fr|format=sur persee }} From September 18-20, 1991, an expedition led by prehistorian Jean Courtin and cave art specialist Jean Clottes took place aboard the DRASM vessel Archéonaute. Initial skepticism about the authenticity of the artwork arose but was later addressed.
In June 1992, another mission resulted in the production of a film, The Secret of Cosquer Cave.{{cite AV media |people=Bernard Rebatel et Gilles Sourice (realisators), Fanny Broadcast (producer) |title=Le Secret de la grotte Cosquer (durée : 26 min) |trans-title=The Secret of Cosquer Cave (running time: 26 min) |type=Motion picture |publisher= |date=1992 |language=fr}} Between 2001 and 2005, and again from 2010 to 2015, a series of archaeological research operations led by Luc Vanrell, with contributions from Michel Olive, further studied the cave.
A legal dispute emerged between Cosquer and the Ministry of Culture regarding compensation under a 2001 law on preventive archaeology. This law entitles discoverers to financial rewards based on the site's archaeological value. Cosquer sought a reward and a share of profits from book sales featuring cave photographs.{{Cite web |title=L'indemnisation d'Henri Cosquer pour sa découverte est contestée |trans-title=Henri Cosquer's compensation for his discovery is disputed | agency=AFP |work=LaProvence.com |date=16 November 2009 |access-date=12 November 2022 |url=https://www.laprovence.com/actu/region-en-direct/132566/lindemnisation-dhenri-cosquer-pour-sa-decouverte-est-contestee.html |language=fr}} Henri Cosquer also claimed a reward and the recovery of part of the proceeds from the sale of books of photographs of the cave.{{Cite web |title=Henri Cosquer pourra être indemnisé |trans-title=Henri Cosquer may be compensated |work=20minutes.fr |date=15 April 2007 |access-date=12 November 2022 |url= https://www.20minutes.fr/france/151814-20070415-henri-cosquer-pourra-etre-indemnise |language=fr}}
Prehistoric paintings
File:Prehistoric Hand Outline Cosquer Cave.JPG
Four-fifths of the cave were permanently or periodically submerged by sea water destroying any cave wall art in those locations. Nearly 500 instances of cave art remain{{Cite web |title=Grotte Cosquer : interview d'un expert avec Jean Courtin |url=https://www.maregionsud.fr/actualites/detail/grotte-cosquer-interview-dun-expert-avec-jean-courtin |access-date=2022-10-24 |website=Ma Région Sud |language=fr |quote=...[E]lle comprend plus de 400 œuvres d’art pariétal exceptionnelles, dont 216 signes, des représentations uniques d’animaux marins tels que les pingouins, les phoques, les méduses, mais aussi de nombreux chevaux, bisons et aurochs. Les parois sont également recouvertes de représentations humaines rares dont « l’homme tué » et des symboles sexuels, des tracés digitaux sur des portions entières de voûtes, réalisations picturales avec des outils, en tout près de 500 représentations peintes et gravées par la main de l’homme.}} which date back to two distinct periods during the Upper Paleolithic.{{Cite journal |last1=Clottes |first1=Jean |last2=Courtin |first2=Jean |last3=Valladas |first3=Hélène |last4=Cachier |first4=Hélène |last5=Mercier |first5=Norbert |last6=Arnold |first6=Maurice |display-authors=3| date=1992 |title=La grotte Cosquer datée |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/bspf_0249-7638_1992_num_89_8_9527 |journal=Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française |volume=89 |issue=8 |pages=230–234 |doi=10.3406/bspf.1992.9527}} The first phase, from around 27,000 years ago (the Gravettian Era), is represented by art consisting of 65 hand stencils, 44 in black and 21 in red. Art from the more recent period dates to around 19,000 years ago (the Solutrean 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, 28 ibex, 17 deer, 10 bison, and 7 aurochs. There is also the more unusual depiction of 16 marine animals including 9 seals and 3 great auks as well as some jellyfish and various figures which could be either fish or cetaceans. 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.{{Cite web |title=La grotte Cosquer à Marseille {{!}} Dossiers d'Archéologie n° 324 |url=https://www.dossiers-archeologie.com/numero-324/grottes-ornees-france/grotte-cosquer-a-marseille.22660.php#article_22660 |access-date=2022-10-24 |website=dossiers-archeologie.com}}{{Cite web| url=http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/cosquer/cosquer2.php| title=The Rock Art of Cosquer Cave| website=bradshawfoundation.com | accessdate=}}
See also
- List of Stone Age art
- Great auk (in cave art)
References
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
{{Refbegin}}
- Clottes, Jean; Courtin, Jean (1994). La grotte Cosquer, Seuil, {{ISBN|2-02-019820-7}} (French)
- Clottes, Jean; Courtin, Jean (1996). The Cave Beneath the Sea: Paleolithic Images at Cosquer. Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York {{ISBN|0-8109-4033-7}} English translation by Marilyn Garner from the French edition
- Clottes, Jean; Courtin, Jean; Vanrell, Luc (2005). Cosquer redécouvert, Seuil, {{ISBN|2-02-065550-0}} (French)
- Billaud, Yves (2017). [https://books.google.com/books?id=Rk8mDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA333 Chapter 12 Western Mediterranean: Annex. Submerged Karst Structures of the French Mediterranean Coast: An Assessment]. pp. 333–340. In: Submerged Landscapes of the European Continental Shelf: Quaternary Paleoenvironments. John Wiley & Sons. {{ISBN|978-1-118-92213-2}}.
- {{cite book | author1=Nicholas C. Flemming | author2=Jan Harff | author3=Delminda Moura | author4=Anthony Burgess | author5=Geoffrey N. Bailey | date=7 August 2017 | title=Submerged Landscapes of the European Continental Shelf: Quaternary Paleoenvironments | publisher=John Wiley & Sons | pages=333–340 |isbn=978-1-118-92213-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rk8mDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA340}}
- {{Cite web |title=Les mystères de la grotte Cosquer |trans-title=The mysteries of the Cosquer cave |last1=Perucca |first1=Brigitte |work=CNRS Le journal |date=3 June 2022 |access-date=19 October 2022 |url=https://lejournal.cnrs.fr/articles/les-mysteres-de-la-grotte-cosquer |language=fr}}
- {{Cite web |title=The mysteries of the Cosquer cave |last1=Perucca |first1=Brigitte |work=CNRS News |date=22 July 2022 |access-date=19 October 2022 |url=https://news.cnrs.fr/articles/the-mysteries-of-the-cosquer-cave |quote=As the replica of the Cosquer cave opens its doors to the public in Marseille (southeastern France), Cyril Montoya, the cave's scientific director, tells us about this marvel of prehistory, which is endangered by rising sea levels, and details the many mysteries that a major research campaign will attempt to solve.}}
- {{Cite web |title=Vidéo : 30 ans après, les oubliés de la grotte Cosquer se retrouvent à Marseille |trans-title=Video: 30 years later, the forgotten of Cosquer Cave find themselves in Marseille |last1=Mildonian |first1=Laurence |last2=U. |first2=F. |work=LaProvence.com |date=16 September 2022 |access-date=19 October 2022 |url=https://www.laprovence.com/actu/en-direct/6901832/video-30-ans-apres-les-oublies-de-la-grotte-cosquer-se-retrouvent-a-marseille.html |language=fr|quote=Pascale Oriol, Yann Gogan, Cendrine Cosquer et Marc Van Espen se sont retrouvés à Marseille, plus de trente ans après la découverte de la grotte Cosquer. [Pascale Oriol, Yann Gogan, Cendrine Cosquer and Marc Van Espen met in Marseille, more than thirty years after the discovery of Cosquer Cave.]}}
- {{Cite web |title=Vidéo : les oubliés de la grotte Cosquer enfin réunis à Marseille |trans-title=Video: the forgotten of Cosquer Cave finally reunited in Marseille |last1=Mildonian |first1=Laurence |work=LaProvence.com |date=20 September 2022 |access-date=19 October 2022 |url=https://www.laprovence.com/article/societe/6906096/video-les-oublies-de-la-grotte-cosquer-enfin-reunis-a-marseille.html |language=fr |quote=Trente-et-un ans après la découverte de la grotte à laquelle ils ont pris part, ceux dont l'histoire a effacé les noms se sont enfin retrouvés à Marseille. Rencontre avec Pascale Oriol, Marc Van Espen, Cendrine Cosquer et Yann Gogan [Thirty-one years after the discovery of the cave in which they took part, those whose names history has erased have finally found themselves in Marseille. Meeting with Pascale Oriol, Marc Van Espen, Cendrine Cosquer and Yann Gogan]}}
- {{cite journal |last1=Van Espen |first1=Marc |title=31 ans après, la grotte Cosquer est sortie de l'eau |journal=Regards. Revue de l'Union Belge de Spéléologie |date=2023 |volume=93 |pages=40–43 |trans-title=31 years later, Cosquer Cave came out of the water |publisher=Union Belge de Spéléologie |url=https://www.speleoubs.be/services/publications/regards-et-speleoinfo |language=French}}
{{Refend}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- [http://keralaarticles.blogspot.com/2007/07/cosquers-cave.html Cosquer’s Cave] Grotto Cosquer
- [http://www.speleogenesis.info/archive/publication.php?Type=publication&PubID=3265 Prehistory and coastal karst area: Cosquer Cave and the “Calanques” of Marseille] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928185820/http://www.speleogenesis.info/archive/publication.php?Type=publication&PubID=3265 |date=2011-09-28 }}
- Official French Ministry of Culture pages on [https://archeologie.culture.gouv.fr/archeo-sous-marine Submarine archaeology]
- {{Cite web |title=Cosquer cave {{!}} Archéologie sous-marine |author=French Ministry of Culture |work=archeologie.culture.gouv.fr |date=2022 |access-date=4 July 2022 |url= https://archeologie.culture.gouv.fr/archeo-sous-marine/en/cosquer-cave}}
- [http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/cosquer The Cosquer Cave] Prehistoric Images and Medicines Under the Sea by Jean Clottes, Jean Courtin and Luc Vanrell
- [https://www.grotte-cosquer.com/ Replica of the cave] in Marseille.
{{Navbox prehistoric caves}}
{{Prehistoric technology}}
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Category:Prehistoric sites in France
Category:Caves containing pictograms in France
Category:Landforms of Bouches-du-Rhône
Category:Tourist attractions in Bouches-du-Rhône
Category:Prehistoric art in France