Grottes d'Arcy-sur-Cure, la Grande Grotte et la grotte du Renne

Arcy-sur-Cure

On the bank of the Cure, in the Yonne, a limestone cliff hides about fifteen caves and shelters that humans occupied from the Middle Palaeolithic to the Neolithic. The Ministry of Culture sees there one of the largest prehistoric complexes of the Paris Basin. The best known is the Grande Grotte: its walls bear about 750 figures, mostly dangerous animals, with many rhinoceroses, but also fish, deer, bears, felines and negative hands, including children's hands. The age of the decoration is debated: about 28,000 years according to a publisher's presentation, about 33,000 years according to a radiocarbon date cited by a review. From 1976 to 1990 the walls were cleaned with a pressure jet, which damaged them. The cave was already attracting visitors for the beauty of its concretions before modern studies. André Leroi-Gourhan's team arrived in 1946 and excavated mainly the grotte du Renne: its Châtelperronian levels yielded Neanderthal remains, ornaments and bone objects. Today the Grande Grotte is visited with a guide, by reservation, from early April to mid-November. No old legend was found: here, the memory is that of science.

Getting there: Paying visit, with a guide, of the Grande Grotte only (discovery visit of about 1 h), from early April to mid-November, 10 am to 6 pm, by the D 606 at Arcy-sur-Cure; online reservation at grottes-arcy.net or by telephone. The other cavities (grotte du Renne, etc.) are not presented to the public in the pages read. Prices not recorded. Coordinates: Grande Grotte d'Arcy (OpenStreetMap, Nominatim); the grotte du Renne is about 250 m away.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound