Grottes de Montmaurin (Grotte de la Niche)

Montmaurin

A jawbone more than 200,000 years old has made this hole in the rock one of the cradles of humanity in France.

This network of cavities cut into the gorges of the Seygouade, including the Grotte Boule and the Grotte de la Niche, yielded in 1949 the famous 'Montmaurin mandible', discovered by the researcher Raoul Cammas and dated to between 190,000 and 240,000 years old. Human occupation of the site spans from the Middle Palaeolithic to the late Middle Ages, and a Neanderthal tooth around 70,000 years old was still being uncovered there in 2020. The caves adjoin one of the largest Gallo-Roman villas in France, excavated from 1946 by Georges Fouet, which covered 19 hectares.

Getting there : Listed as a historic monument in 1949; karst network in the gorges of the Seygouade, near the Gallo-Roman villa of Lassalles

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

Ambient sound