Abstract
THE Smithsonian Institution announces the completion of an agreement with the University of Toulouse, whereby the two bodies will co-operate for a period of ten years in the excavation of the cave of Marsoulas in the Haute-Garonne among the foothills of the Pyrenees, The cave is the property of the University, and is already well known to archæologists for its polychrome paintings and wall engravings of palaeolithic age. It was first investigated by archæologists in 1886–87, but after that it was comparatively neglected until recent excavation by Mr. J. Townsend Russell of the Division of Old World Archæology of the Smithsonian Institution. The cavern is about thirty metres in extent, but galleries now closed by clay infiltration suggest that at the time of its occupation by palæolithic man it may have afforded more extensive accommodation than at present. It is hoped that it may be possible to open up these galleries. By the time the agreement expires, the cave should be cleared completely. In the meantime the terms of the agreement may be extended to cover other investigations, possibly so far afield as the French Near East and Africa.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Co-operation in Archæological Research in France. Nature 129, 273 (1932). https://doi.org/10.1038/129273c0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/129273c0