LE BOIS DE RIQUET

This former basalt quarry has revealed many secrets over the last thirty-five years. In operation for most of the 20th century, it was identified as an archaeological site in 1985 by the amateur researcher Jean Nizas. It was not until 2008 that he informed the scientific community of his discoveries, and excavations were then scheduled on the site. Over the next ten years, several campaigns led to the identification of seven sites covering the Palaeolithic and Neolithic periods, from about 1.2 million years to about 3,000 years before our era. The entire site has revealed thousands of fossil animal bones (mega-ceros, rhinoceros, mammoth, bear, horse...), lithic remains in large numbers, as well as artefacts that attest to human presence. Excavation campaigns are continually carried out and some archaeologists offer visits from time to time.