Arago cave, Archaeological cave in Tautavel, France
The cave extends 30 meters into a limestone cliff of the Corbières mountains, overlooking the Verdouble River valley 80 meters below.
Excavations since 1964 revealed human occupation layers spanning from 700,000 to 100,000 years ago, with numerous tools and fossils from the Lower Paleolithic period.
The site contains 151 human fossil remains, including the famous Tautavel Man skull fragments, representing one of Europe's largest collections of pre-Neanderthal specimens.
The excavation site remains active each summer, allowing researchers and volunteers to participate in archaeological digs under scientific supervision.
The cave sediments contain fossils from 122 different animal species and fifty distinct human occupation levels across six complete climate cycles.
Location: Tautavel
Elevation above the sea: 350 m
Address: Caune de l'Arago 66720
GPS coordinates: 42.83970,2.75484
Latest update: June 23, 2025 09:42
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