Archaeological walk in the heart of the landscape
Designed in 2006 by the architectural firm Catherine Frenak and landscape designer Catherine Mosbach, the Solutré archaeological and botanical park is an invitation to travel and contemplation. Throughout the eight stations, between spontaneous flora and stratified archaeological levels, let your gaze wander over the Saône valley and the Bressian plain. Following in the footsteps of the first occupants, immerse yourself in the wonder of a true journey through time.
The Archaeological Park is located at the very place where our ancestors came to hunt large herbivores, at the foot of the Rock of Solutre. Like them, look over 13 m² of landscape of wooded meadow.
Follow him path which winds between the embankments of archaeological explorations of the last century. Here, a mound of earth, there, a pit still visible. From 1866, the many excavation campaigns shaped the relief of the terrain, leaving marked imprints in the ground of this site where prehistoric men hunted thousands of horses and reindeer.
Observe! In the lawn, here and there, colorful touches ofplant species, wild and protected orchids. Along the way, the signs tell you about the geology history of research, the way of life of prehistoric communities, their hunting techniques and the current vegetation so particular to the site, that of limestone lawns, rare and protected, which can be found at the top of the rocks of Solutré, and Vergisson and Mont de Pouilly.
Contemplate the far away! The Saône valley, the Bresse plain, the blue line of Mont-Jura, exceeded by the summit of Mont Blanc, extend as far as the eye can see. The air is vibrant, a light breeze ripples the tall grass, you feel good.
Admire! Under the large shelter, casts reveal the depth of the deposit and the succession of archaeological layers. Linger in front of two particularly intriguing casts. The first is the soil of the horse bone layer of sector J10, dating from the Gravettian, revealing the layer of horse magma which covers almost one hectare on the deposit. It is almost entirely made up of horse remains, mainly the bones of their legs and their teeth, the strongest elements that resist the millennia. The second, higher, represents the hearth structure of sector M12, witness to the Aurignacian, the oldest culture ofHomo sapiens in Europe. It reveals an exceptional layout more than 30 years, recounting the passage of a group of horse, reindeer and bison hunters.
So, are you ready to join us for an unforgettable experience at the Solutré Prehistory Museum and its Archaeological Park?
©Stéphane GodinZoom on
Stratigraphic casts of J10 and M12. From the top of the stratigraphic levels, 400 centuries of prehistory gaze down upon you!
Two large vertical casts complete this ensemble: the stratigraphy of sector I11 reveals the succession of two Magdalenian levels, dated with carbon 14 between 14 and 000 Before our era, and from a Solutrean level dated between 22 and 000 BCE (calibrated dating).
The base of this stratigraphy is interrupted by the layer of horse bones, revealed a few meters away in sector J10, testifying to the repeated hunts of Gravettian hunters, dated between 31 and 200 Before Christ (calibrated dating). Next to it, the dizzying fall into the well of time continues with the levels of sector M12, below the level of magma Gravettian. Spread over two levels, the Aurignacian occupations of Solutré have been dated between 38 and 500 Before our era.
Practical information
The Archaeological and Botanical Park is accessible from the Prehistory Museum. Access to it is included in the museum entrance ticket.
The Archaeological and Botanical Park is not accessible to people with motor disabilities.
