Vallée des merveilles

Landscape of the valley of Mavels seen from "la baisse de Valmasque"

La Vallée des Merveilles (French for "Valley of Marvels") is a part of the Mercantour National Park in southern France. It holds the largest quantity of open-air Bronze Age petroglyphs in Europe, which is given special note for the area's inclusion for the European Diploma of Protected Areas.^[1]

Petroglyphs

There are two kinds of drowings:

dépression made by percuttion aged back to the Bronze Age.

the elements of this group are composed of shape with horns, weapons(daggers, halberds and axes), géométrical shapes. The interpretation of these signes is not easy but should be of religious origin.

the linear one graved with iron tools from the middle age (fibula?) and after.

One of the graved rock. "The rock with one burst"

Discovered at the end of the XIXth century, the petroglyphs are on Rocky outcrops or erratic blocks. Recent studies directed by Henry de Lumley offer a first result according the understanding and the social and cultural organisation of the people of the Mediterranean Bronze Age.

Studied for more than 30 years by the team of Henry de Lumley, the site is visited by students of art histoy, archeology and geology from around the world.

More than 30000 petroglyphs are recorded since the systematical copying since 1967 by a collaboration of universitys, museums, scientific institutions financed by the French culture ministry and conseil général des alpes Maritimes.

Copyed and identified since the XVIIth century, the petroglyphs were only studied in 1897 by the British Clarence Bicknell, then the sculturer Carlo Conti from 1927 to 1942. Today Henry de Lumley had classified the petroglyphs on a area of 14km2

Most of the petroglyphs are around the Mount Bégo, witch let suppose to some scientist that this mount was sacred. half are in the vallée des merveilles and the other half in the vallée de Fontanalbe west of the mount Bégo.

Fewer petroglyphs can be found in :

Valaurette area
col du Sabion
Saint Marie lake
Valmasque
Vei Del Boud lake (Italia)

All the petrogriphs are unequally spread on a area of 40Km2.

The petroglyphs are a testimony of the beilives of agricultural people of the Bronze Age. For some scientifics the mount Bégot would have been divinized for the water which flow from it and the terrible and frequent storms. The most frequent theme is the animal with horns (bull? cow? goat?). Harnessed animals to plough testify of agricultural practice. Géométrical shapes (réticulés) should be look as fields or enclosures. The weapons are also well represented. Unnumbered are antropormophique shapes which were given more or less flateing names: The sorcer, the christ, the chief of the tribe, the man with flash light harms. Some more enigmatic autorise alll interptetations as the tree of live of Fontanalbe.

Geographical location

The merveille conpound is situated in the eart of the external cristalin of the alps massif from Argentera-Mercantour.

How to visit the sites?

A pedestrian way go through the Valley. Some of the petroglyphs are visible from this path which is forbidden to leave without an approuved guide.
The Musée des merveilles in the town of Tende.

Beware: the petroglyths are far from roads so you have to consider:

a guide to bring you with a 4x4 ( about 1 H 30). Or
3 to 4 hours walking to access to the entrance of the valley from the lac des meches(EdF dam) in Saint-dalmas de Tende (in direction of Casterino). A night in the "refuge du CAF" (Club Alpin Français). Hard to do the walk up, the visit and the walk down the same day. Or
3 hours walking to reatch the site of the petroglyphs from pont du Countet situated over the roud of la gordolasque (haute Vésubie). A night in the "refuge du CAF" (Club Alpin Français). Hard to do the walk up, the visit and the walk down the same day.

References

^ Bauer, Francoise (2002). "The European Diploma of Protected Areas" (PDF). Parks. 12 (3). The World Conservation Union. Retrieved 2011-9-23. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

External links

Transclusion error: {{En}} is only for use in File namespace. Use {{langx|en}} or {{in lang|en}} instead. Mount Bego prehistoric rock carvings by Nicoletta Bianchi
Transclusion error: {{En}} is only for use in File namespace. Use {{langx|en}} or {{in lang|en}} instead. Official site of marvels museum from Tende
Template:Fr Entretien avec la directrice du Musée des Merveilles
Template:Fr Les sites et gravures de la vallée des Merveilles sur le site officiel du ministère français de la Culture
Template:Fr Stèle pour stèle dans la Vallée des Merveilles Film en ligne de Robert Field, 1989, 12 minutes. Production SFRS/CERIMES.
Template:Fr La Vallée des merveilles - Les gravures rupestres de l'âge du bronze Film en ligne de Henry de Lumley, 1971, 21 minutes. Production SFRS/CERIMES.

Petroglyphs
A plough, two animals and a man

44°4′34″N 7°26′18″E / 44.07611°N 7.43833°E / 44.07611; 7.43833

[1] Bauer, Francoise (2002). "The European Diploma of Protected Areas" (PDF). Parks. 12 (3). The World Conservation Union. Retrieved 2011-9-23. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

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