One of the horses in the Cosquer cave -

DR

  • The Cosquer cave is a prehistoric cave at the gates of Marseille, remarkable for the wealth of engravings and paintings that adorn it.

  • But it is now accessible only by water, the level of which continues to rise.

  • This rising sea level pushes scientists to train in diving to urgently study the ornaments before outright disappearance.

"We already know that we have lost information since the discovery of the Cosquer cave," worries Geneviève Pinçon, director of the national center of prehistory.

We must act quickly because the degradation is happening faster and faster.

The sea makes everything disappear.

".

The only submerged and decorated prehistoric cave in the world, discovered twenty years ago somewhere on the outskirts of Marseille, in the heart of the creeks, the Cosquer cave is gradually emptying of its substance.

With global warming and pollution, the water level of this cave, accessible on foot millennia ago, is rising irreparably.

And the sea carries with it the multitude of drawings and engravings from another time which makes it so remarkable.

“It's irremediable, continues Geneviève Pinçon.

Sea water is undermining archaeological layers.

"" The biggest shock came from the end of summer 2011, remembers the archaeologist diver from Marseille Luc Vanrell, who has known the cave like the back of his hand and has been exploring it for about thirty years.

An abnormal rise in the water level was noticed in the cave.

And since then, it has not stopped rising, further and further, faster and faster.

There is an erosion of all the panels, including the most famous, those of the black horses.

The lowest horses are now underwater.

"

"Take an inventory of everything that is being destroyed"

It was only last year that the Ministry of Culture decided to sound the fray.

“Other caves were discovered just after Cosquer, and in particular the Chauvet cave in Ardèche, explains the prehistorian Cyril Montoya.

This has polarized scientific activities, especially since there are not many researchers in France capable of working on these subjects.

"

Also, since last year, Cyril Montoya has become the leader of a team of rather particular marathon scientists, launched in a real race against time.

“The priority is to take an inventory of everything that is being destroyed because of the rising waters,” he explains.

There was a preliminary inventory that was carried out in the 1990s and early 2000s. And we know that each time we discover things.

"

However, the inventory that is announced is not so simple, given the difficulty of access to the cave.

"To get in, you have to dive underground, at the end of a gallery, which is difficult and psychologically heavy," notes Luc Vanrell.

You have to be comfortable with all the procedures, not to mention that people are afraid in the dark, confined and tight against each other.

"

“We cannot intervene at any time, adds Cyril Montoya.

The water level must be at its lowest to have an intervention window.

"The archaeologists who will go to the site are therefore currently seeking to become seasoned divers, to be ready on D-Day." I have lived all my life near the sea, but I had never done diving before, the Montpellier native Cyril Montoya has fun. Immersion in the cave for the team of scientists is hoped for next summer, a few months before the announced opening date of the reconstruction of the cave at the Villa Méditerranée .

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  • Research

  • Prehistory

  • Archeology

  • Marseilles

  • Cave