The Cave of Aldène, also called the cave of the Shell, cave of Minerva or cave of Fauzan, is a prehistoric site located in the town of Cesseras in the Hérault, south of the Black Mountain. It has been frequented since the Lower Palaeolithic, then decorated with Aurignacian engravings. It has also delivered signs of attendance dating from the Mesolithic and the Bronze Age.

It has been classified as a historical monument since January 17, 19552.

A gallery in the upper part of the network has delivered wide and deep engravings including original figurations by their subject (horse but also bear, feline, mammoth). They have been the subject of studies and surveys carried out by D. Vialou. In this gallery, stalagmitic floors and coals have been dated to more than 30,000 years AD. For Paul Ambert and his collaborators, "This date, like the style, but also the bestiary of Aldène's parietal figurations, are therefore identical and contemporary with those corresponding to the first period of the art of the Chauvet cave.

Sites

Grotte d'Aldène