More than a hundred Neolithic rock paintings, 4000 years old, have been discovered in the south-east of France. An event described as “major” by the president of the Institute of Prehistory and Archeology Alpes-Méditerranée (IPAAM).
Until now, they had gone unnoticed, because hidden by the vegetation… These 120 rock paintings represent warriors and “scenes of combat, chaos or funerals” and date from 2000 years before our era. From the “Final Neolithic and the very beginning of the Bronze Age”, explained to AFP Claude Salicis, president of the Institute of Prehistory and Archeology Alpes-Méditerranée (IPAM), confirming information from the regional daily Nice-Matin.
One can also distinguish dogs, other animals and deities: the figures are not engraved, but painted with yellow and a little pink.
Located about twenty kilometers from the thousands of rock engravings of the “valley of wonders“, the site of Valdeblore is “a major discovery in the region, because until now only two paintings of this kind had been identified through the department”, according to Claude Salicis. The dating and the authentication of the paintings have been allowed thanks to an analysis of the pigments used.
>> Watch the Nice Matin video, “Cave paintings discovered in Valdeblore”:
A father, his son and a drone
It is to two judokas, living nearby and accustomed to the place, that this discovery comes back during the summer of 2022: “With my son, we regularly survey these mountains and we very often passed in front of the cliff without noticing the paintings”, said Marcel Pietri, 64, former European judo champion and now national technical director of the Monegasque Judo Federation.
“One summer day, my son decided to film the cliff with a drone and that’s where we saw the first painting, then others”, added Marcel Pietri, “passionate about history and archeology”. His son Loïc, 32, was world judo champion in 2013 (-81 kg) and participated in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in Brazil in 2016.
The paintings are located in rock shelters on a cliff cleared in 2017 and prepared for rock climbing. “The challenge now is to classify these paintings, which will allow them to be protected”, underlined Claude Salicis. The idea would be to sanctuary the place, a process that can take up to five years.
>> A photographic gallery of the discoveries:
Stéphanie Jaquet and the AFP
