Caves Of Arcy-Sur-Cure

All our previous experience of caves and prehistoric cave art in France (which is considerable) has been in the south, so it was with great interest that we learned of the existence and significance of the caves of Arcy-sur-Cure, just 20 miles south of Auxerre. We booked a tour (French only) and showed up the next morning, June 30. It was one of our better cave art tours. Arcy's "paintings" feature a range of animals and some hands-in-negative, dated at about 28,000 years ago...making them the 2nd oldest set of cave paintings so far discovered. Chauvet, the Pont d'Arc, which we saw in 2016, is still the oldest. Arcy's collection, although polychrome and quite varied, is relatively small, due to a "cleaning" of soot from the walls in the 70s and 80s. Although the caves at Arcy have been known--and inhabited--for ages, the paintings themselves were not identified until the 90s. It takes special skill to "see" them beneath the ancient limestone coating, and even more skill to remove that coating without damaging them. Anyhow, much further information is below and in various articles on the web.

Not so sure about the 200,000 years, but old enough for us

Traditional entrance; Arcy is privately-owned and commercialized;
but tastefully and with due regard to preservation, archaeological
interests, education, etc.

Helpful map of the main cave; there are perhaps
a dozen others up the river

Helpful map of all France's known caves and grottos;
mostly in the south

One of several kiddie classrooms; two busloads were leaving as
we arrived; the kids have a look in the cave, then do their own
(finger) paintings

Upstream, one of the several other caves

All of which have yielded evidence of human habitation over the
last three three millennia

Amply documented in the excellent signage

 

Now we are walking along the paved main cave floor, me snapping
pix along the way

The usual cave features

At which point the guide informed me there was a no fotos policy;
oops!

The tour was mostly in French, although the guide
gave us synopses in English, the printed English
pamphlet (above and following), and answered our
questions [click to enlarge]

This and the following are examples of what we saw...all either
photos of the Cave's publications/posters, or off the web

Lots of mastodons

Menagerie

Among the hands-in-negative 

Auxerre, 2023

After Noyers we drove on to Auxerre, where we'd spent several pleasant days in 2019. Our 2023 European campaign was coming to an end, and Auxerre offered a convenient stop from which to visit the last four sites before returning to Paris, turning the camper back in, and jetting back to the US. We had covered Auxerre pretty well in 2019, and so just contented ourselves with a leisurely afternoon stroll in the old town. We were in a different municipal campground, in a different part of town, this time, and so availed ourselves of the opportunity to see the church of St. Peter's abbey, which we'd missed in 2019. 

Interior of the abbey church; pretty thoroughly Baroque

Among several vandalized paintings

Organ

Somehow, the place exuded neglect

Now walking to the city center

Admiring the half-timbered buildings and carvings

And stopping to have another look at the cathedral...much older
than the abbey church above

Ever more pix in the posts listed below

Now in the old city center

Beautiful city, Auxerre...ever more pix in the 2019 posts
listed below...

https://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2019/05/auxerre-scenes.html
https://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2019/05/auxerre-cathedral-architecture-and.html
https://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2019/05/auxerre-cathedral-crypt-and-sculpture.html

https://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2019/05/auxerres-st-germain-abbey-church-crypt.html

https://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2019/05/auxerres-church-of-st-eusebius.html

https://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2019/05/escapade-on-auxerre-wino-bus.html

Noyers

Noyers, still in Burgundy-Franche-Comte, turned out to be the last of our plus beaux villages visits for this campaign. Like many of the others in eastern France, it was a town of walls and towers, half-timbered buildings and carvings, and cobblestone streets, most from the 15th and 16th centuries.

Main tower and portal

Half-timbered everywhere, many carved 

Someone was very excited about the Revolution of 1848 and the
establishment of the 1st Republic...too bad...

Now we're walking outside the walls

Along the river

We passed on the site of the old castle, once a Hugenot fortress,
destroyed by Henri IV ("Paris is worth a mass")

18th century map of the place

Local flora; hollyhock?

Still very much in wine country

Street scene

My house is older than your house

Now approaching the parish church

The main interest of which was these guys tuning

the organ...an organists' competition was planned for 

the weekend

Another lop-sided late Gothic

"Who is a better teacher of life and things than to teach
at the speed with which an hour runs on foot?" Cute...
but note, this sundial has no VII, VIII, nor IX...most
likely because the French are not early risers...?