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Professional diver Henri Cosquer found the entrance to Cosquer Cave near Marseille in 1985. He reported its prehistoric art to French authorities in 1991, when a scientific team authenticated the paintings and engravings. The art is not all 20,000 years old: official accounts describe separate periods, with dates ranging from about 33,000 to 19,000 years ago.
Where is Cosquer Cave?
Cosquer Cave lies in the Calanques near Cap Morgiou, between Marseille and Cassis. Its original entrance is roughly 37 metres below today’s sea level. A long submerged passage leads to chambers that are partly above water. The French Ministry of Culture says the coastline was several kilometres farther seaward during the last ice age, when sea level was about 120 metres lower than today.
People who made the images could reach the cave on foot. As ice melted and sea levels rose after the glacial period, the entrance and much of the cave were flooded; prehistoric visitors did not dive through the underwater passage that divers use today.
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The discovery and official recognition happened at different times. The City of Marseille’s account dates Cosquer’s discovery of the entrance near the Calanque de la Triperie to 1985. He could not continue his first exploration without adequate lighting and equipment. He later returned, and in 1991 reported the decorated cave to DRASSM, France’s department for underwater archaeological research.
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After the report, a scientific mission led by prehistorian Jean Courtin, with Jean Clottes among the specialists, authenticated the paintings and engravings. The City’s account places the report after three divers died in the flooded passages. The cave was classified as a historic monument on 2 September 1992, according to the official cave history.
How old are the Cosquer Cave paintings?
“20,000-year-old” is a rounded headline description, not a date that applies to every image. The sources describe at least two phases, but their accounts differ in how they date the earlier one. The Ministry of Culture describes an earlier occupation about 27,000 years ago and a later one about 19,000 years ago. The City of Marseille says carbon-14 dating of charcoal taken from paintings indicates hand paintings about 33,000 years before present, followed by a phase of engravings and paintings about 19,000 years before present.
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Those are source-specific accounts and should not be collapsed into a single age or reconciled by guesswork. Both indicate that the cave’s imagery belongs to separate periods rather than one moment in prehistory.
What do the paintings and engravings show?
The Ministry of Culture counts 500 paintings and engravings, including 200 geometric designs. The images include animals, hand stencils and other human imagery. The animal figures include both familiar land animals and an unusual range of marine life.
- Land animals: horses, bison, antelopes and ibex appear in the Ministry’s account. The City also lists deer, aurochs or bison, saiga antelope, megaloceros, panther and chamois.
- Marine animals and birds: the Ministry names seals and auks. The City describes seals, penguin-like birds and a jellyfish depiction.
- Human and geometric imagery: hand stencils are the principal human images noted by the Ministry, which also identifies a half-man, half-seal engraving and 200 geometric designs.
The juxtaposition of terrestrial animals with seals and seabirds makes the cave’s imagery distinctive. The art records what people represented, but the images alone do not establish exactly what those animals meant to their makers.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Can you visit Cosquer Cave?
The original cave is protected and closed to the public. Water has damaged submerged surfaces, and four fifths of the cave has been underwater since the end of the last glacial period, according to the official cave history. Geneviève Pinçon, director of the national centre for prehistory, warned: “We know that very little can be preserved in this site in France. Something is lost every day in the cave and that’s why excavations have become a matter of urgency.”
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- A winning combo of art and science.
- Curriculum tie-in potential to prehistory, art, anthropology, and geography.
- Stunning artwork and design.
- Robust back matter includes world map with keyed rock art sites, author’s note, info about the Lascaux Caves, glossary, and timeline.
- Read more books by Hannah Salyer such as Packs: Strength in Numbers.
Visitors can experience a replica at Cosquer Méditerranée in Marseille, which opened on 4 June 2022. The venue describes a 35-minute cave tour aboard exploratory vehicles, with audio commentary in six languages; the wider visit averages around two hours. Check Cosquer Méditerranée’s visitor information for current practical details.
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