Parc archéologique et botanique de Solutré, Archaeological and botanical park at Solutré-Pouilly, France
The Parc archéologique et botanique de Solutré is an outdoor museum with landscaped grounds, plants, and archaeological installations at the base of the famous Solutré Rock. Eight different stations display discoveries and explain the composition of underground layers that accumulated over many thousands of years.
The first excavations began in the 1800s and revealed that people conducted large hunting operations here during the Ice Age. These findings made the location key to understanding how early humans lived in one place over extended periods.
The name comes from the rock formation that dominated the landscape for millennia and held deep meaning for those who lived here. Visitors can observe today how the mountain's shape influenced the hunting patterns and daily routines of the earliest inhabitants.
The best way to visit the park is through the adjacent Prehistory Museum, where you can gather information and context before your walk. Keep in mind that the ground is hilly and some stations are located higher up on the rock face, so plan for comfortable walking shoes and time to explore.
At certain stations visitors can see vertical casts that work like a cross-section, showing how archaeological layers stack on top of each other. This visual presentation makes it easy to grasp which periods of human history overlap and how long people stayed in this location.
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