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Marie Thiry and the Cosquer Cave, the art and the way

Audio 48:30

Marie Thiry presents on ARTE her documentary "The Cosquer cave, a masterpiece on borrowed time" © Gedeon Programs

By: Jean-François Cadet Follow

1 min

In the depths of the Calanques of Marseille, a treasure has been hidden for 30,000 years: the Cosquer cave.

Discovered in 1985, this prehistoric testimony is rich in hundreds of paintings and engravings.

As a replica of the cave opens to the public, this documentary traces its extraordinary history.

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37 years ago in 1985, a diver named Henri Cosquer discovered the entrance to an underwater cave near Cap Morgiou, in the Calanques de Cassis, near Marseille, 37 meters below the level of the Mediterranean.

For six years he secretly visited it with a select few.

It was not until 1991 that he officially declared his discovery.

A few months later, the Cosquer cave was classified as a historical monument.

There are masterpieces of parietal art dating back some 30,000 years.

An archaeological and cultural gem today threatened by the rising waters, the general public will be able to discover from tomorrow the restitution at the Villa Cosquer Méditerranée, just next to the Mucem in Marseille. 

On this occasion, ARTE is broadcasting from tomorrow on its Arte.tv site

, a fascinating documentary that chronicles the work of scientists and artists who have helped to unveil some – only a few – of the mysteries of the cave.

Its director

is the guest of VMDN.

On the menu of this Café Gourmand:

• Amélie Beaucour

  met Bruno and Appollo the authors of the comic strip " 

  T'zée, an African tragedy

   " published by Dargaud editions.

• Marjorie Bertin

  read the book “ 

  Reverance to the baobabs, from the Dogon plateau to the international stage plateau

   ” by Malian actor Akonio Dolo.

• Edmond Sadaka

  met the great jazz saxophonist Géraldine Laurent.

  His latest album is called 

  “Cooking”.

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• Culture

• Archeology