Artefacts of the archeological site of the rocher de l'Impératrice

Aurochs head on one of the two engraved faces of fragment 317 from the Rocher de l’Impératrice site in Plougastel-Daoulas, Finistère. This rock shelter, where digging began in 2013, was mainly occupied at the start of the Azilian, around 14,500 years ago. It was used for short periods by hunters visiting the valley that is now under the sea. Flint tools have been found in this shelter, as well as engraved schist tablets. These tablets, the oldest evidence of artwork in Brittany, show a…

Cross-section of the rock shelter at the Rocher de l’Impératrice site in Plougastel-Daoulas, Finistère. This shelter, where digging began in 2013, was mainly occupied at the start of the Azilian, around 14,500 years ago. It was used for short periods by hunters visiting the valley that is now under the sea. The most recent stratum, 101, is made up of colluvium and reworked deposits. Layer 108 is made up of a scree of quartzite rock in colluvium, while layer 102, containing Azilian artefacts,…

Projectile points discovered at the Rocher de l’Impératrice site in Plougastel-Daoulas, Finistère. This rock shelter, where digging began in 2013, was mainly occupied at the start of the Azilian, around 14,500 years ago. It was used for short periods by hunters visiting the valley that is now under the sea. The remains of flint tools have been found there, as well as engraved schist tablets. Here, figures 1 to 8 are bipoints; 9 to 11 are regular monopoints; 12 and 13 are irregular monopoints;…

Lithic tools discovered at the Rocher de l’Impératrice site in Plougastel-Daoulas, Finistère. This rock shelter, where digging began in 2013, was mainly occupied at the start of the Azilian, around 14,500 years ago. It was used for short periods by hunters visiting the valley that is now under the sea. Flint tools have been found there, as well as engraved schist tablets. Here, figures 1 to 5 are flat retouched blades; figures 6 to 8 are burins used to work various materials; figures 9 and 10…

Selection of engraved pieces from the Rocher de l’Impératrice site in Plougastel-Daoulas, Finistère. This rock shelter, where digging began in 2013, was mainly occupied at the start of the Azilian, around 14,500 years ago. It was used for short periods by hunters visiting the valley that is now under the sea. Flint tools have been found in this shelter, as well as engraved schist tablets. These tablets, the oldest evidence of artwork in Brittany, show, as in this case, a geometric register …

Tablet 741, showing horses, from the Rocher de l’Impératrice site in Plougastel-Daoulas, Finistère. This rock shelter, where digging began in 2013, was mainly occupied at the start of the Azilian, around 14,500 years ago. It was used for short periods by hunters visiting the valley that is now under the sea. Flint tools have been found in this shelter, as well as engraved schist tablets. These tablets, the oldest evidence of artwork in Brittany, show a geometric register (hatching, grids and…

Animal figures engraved on bone or stone, discovered in various deposits dating from the Late Magdalenian (figures 1 to 7) and the Early Azilian (figures 8 to 11). Begun in 2013, the digs at the Rocher de l’Impératrice site in Plougastel-Daoulas, Finistère, led to the discovery of engraved schist tablets dating from the early Azilian. These tablets, the oldest evidence of artwork in Brittany, show a geometric register (hatching, grids and zigzags) as well as naturalistic representations of…

Engraved horse heads from the Rocher de l’Impératrice and Pincevent sites. Begun in 2013, the digs at the Rocher de l’Impératrice site in Plougastel-Daoulas, Finistère, led to the discovery, inside a dwelling, of engraved schist tablets dating from the early Azilian, 14,500 years ago. These tablets, the oldest evidence of artwork in Brittany, show a geometric register (hatching, grids and zigzags) as well as naturalistic representations of horses, as in this case, and aurochs. Traces of…

Digging at the Rocher de l’Impératrice site in Plougastel-Daoulas, Finistère. This rock shelter, where digging began in 2013, was mainly occupied at the start of the Azilian, around 14,500 years ago. It was used for short periods by hunters visiting the valley that is now under the sea. The remains of flint tools have been found in this shelter, as well as engraved schist tablets. These tablets, the oldest evidence of artwork in Brittany, show an abstract register (hatching, grids and zigzags)…

Detail of an engraved horse head from the Rocher de l’Impératrice site in Plougastel-Daoulas, Finistère. This rock shelter, where digging began in 2013, was mainly occupied at the start of the Azilian, around 14,500 years ago. It was used for short periods by hunters visiting the valley that is now under the sea. Flint tools have been found in this shelter, as well as engraved schist tablets. These tablets, the oldest evidence of artwork in Brittany, show an abstract register (hatching, grids…