Cosquer Cave

The Henry Cosquer cave or Cosquer Grotto is located southeast of Marseille on Cap Morgiou. It belongs to the radius of the Franco-Cantabrian cave art.

Description

The entrance to the cave is located 37 meters below sea level, and can therefore only be achieved by appropriately qualified divers.

By the flooded entrance leads to a higher dry cave room with about 19000-27000 year old cave paintings and cave drawings from the Solutrean showing, inter alia, seals, fish, horses, bison, seals, mountain goats and Riesenalken and other sea birds.

History

The cave was first dived in 1985 by Henri Cosquer. With his companions, he completed the course of months a number of dives in this cave. In July 1991, were discovered by Henri Cosquer cave paintings after he had advanced into several dives deeper into the input tube. In the same year, the discovery of the cave, according to the first scientific investigations, was officially announced. It is a nature reserve, the visit is strictly prohibited.

The entrance to the cave was away from the coast towards the end of the Würm glaciation, during the period of use, about 80 m above the water level and about 11 km. This changed when the sea level rose sharply when the melting of the polar caps.