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Baume Latrone

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Site function:
Decor cave
Lat/Long:
43.93, 4.33
Country:
France
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The Baume Latrone (balm in French, or balma in Occitan, means cave) is a prehistoric site located in the commune of Sainte-Anastasie, in the Gard. The cave contains, among other things, drawings of mammoths and a feline dating from the Upper Paleolithic. The stylistic study suggested a very ancient age. Carbon-14 dating gave a calibrated age of 37,464 years before the present. The representations of the cave are thus among the oldest currently known in Europe, alongside those of the Chauvet cave.

In 2012, a charcoal harvested at the foot of the drawings was dated to 37,464 years before the present in calibrated age. This very old dating provides an additional argument for attributing this set to the Aurignacian, like the works of the Chauvet cave. The Latrone balm would therefore constitute one of the oldest sites of prehistoric art in Europe.