Cosquer Cave
Gruta Cosquer
- Date
- 1985-1991 · confidence high
- Place
- Marseille (Calanque de Morgiou), Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
- Credited to
- Henri Cosquer
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
Professional diver Henri Cosquer discovered in 1985 the submerged entrance of a cave in the Calanque de Morgiou near Marseille, whose chambers — reachable only underwater due to Holocene sea-level rise — preserve Upper Palaeolithic engravings and paintings.
What it led to
- Study of coastal Palaeolithic cave art
- Underwater cave archaeology techniques
- Protection of submerged Palaeolithic caves