The restored Cosquer Cave in Marseille: a journey into prehistory

On the last day of January 2024, we visited the restored Coquer Cave (La grotte Coquer) in Marseille, a visit that was and remains a unique experience. The original cave was discovered, officially at least, in 1985 by professional diver Henri Coquer in the Calanques National Park, near Cap Morgiou. There are rumors that divers knew about the cave even earlier, but no one had visited it before Coquer. The first paintings were dated to 33 years BC and the last to 19 years BC (the Paleolithic period).

Does all the credit go to Henri Cusker alone? Three divers from Cusker’s circle, twenty years younger than him, remain unknown, to whom Cusker owes the discovery of the cave paintings. All three unanimously claim that without them Cusker would not have been able to explore the cave. These are two women, one of whom is Cusker’s niece, and one man who learned to dive with “Big Brother,” as he was called.

Koskar turned to the three young men to help him explore the cave. They responded enthusiastically, went down to the cave with him about a dozen times, assisted him in diving and exploring, and they were the ones who discovered its paintings. After they served him, Koskar chose to remove them from the spotlight and never mentioned them in a single word. Three disadvantaged people, on the verge of their sixties, who have a bitter taste in their mouths. Koskar refuses to answer journalists' questions on the issue.

French readers are invited to read about the affair atLink this.

The dry cave became underwater.

The ancients who frequented the cave could reach it on foot, but today, for nine thousand years, the cave is almost entirely below sea level (37 m), hidden in its depths, sinking further and further. In September 1991, a fatal accident occurred, in which three cave explorers from Grenoble lost their lives, after they could not find their way out of the cave. The cave is entered through a crevice in the rock into an underwater corridor that opens to the halls and passages between them. The three cave explorers, who were inexperienced in diving, descended into the cave without safety arrangements, accompanied by a diving guide, who was the only one to escape the disaster unscathed.

Henri Cosker and another diver discovered the bodies and brought them up. The three unfortunate men were only a few meters from the cave entrance and still had air, but they panicked and therefore did not survive. Two days later, Cosker informed the Director of Maritime Affairs of the discovery of the cave. Cosker knew that following the fatal accident he could no longer keep the discovery of the cave a secret and wanted to secure himself as the sole discoverer. He came with a lawyer who took care to arrange his client's financial interests.

The official announcement allowed the authorities to ban unsupervised diving to prevent further disasters. Thus began a project to study and preserve the cave discovery. And not only because of the safety risks to human life, but also because of the future disappearance of the cave, which would be buried under water.

Some of the paintings have already been erased, and the entire cave will not withstand the water washing through it and will be completely flooded. It was urgent, therefore, to copy the paintings and restore the cave. This task was made possible thanks to a 2022D scan of the original cave. The restoration meets the need to preserve the paintings and the entire site and also allows the general public (one million visitors since its opening in the summer of XNUMX) to visit an almost exact replica of it (slightly smaller than the original).

You are invited to watch a fascinating video about the behind-the-scenes of the second Koskar Cave:

Breathtaking dive in time

The final result of the reconstruction of the cave and its paintings is breathtaking. We arrived at the building called “La Villa Méditerranée”, the Mediterranean Villa, located on the grounds of the Mucem Museum, an acronym for “Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations”, about a ten-minute walk from the old port.

After purchasing the entrance tickets, we crossed a bridge over the sea. On the left you can see the replica of Henri Cusker’s ship, the “Cro-Magnon.” An amusing coincidence, the ship that Cusker bought and from which he went on his dives, one of which was to discover the cave, is called the “Cro-Magnon.” It was named that way even before he discovered the cave, and it was not he who gave it its name, but the sailor from whom he bought it. The renovated ship anchored near the entrance bridge is not the original ship but a replica of it. Just as there is Cusker Cave 1 (the original) and Cusker Cave 2 (the replica), there are also its Discovery Ship 1 (the original) and Discovery Ship 2 (the replica).

Through the bridge we entered the building and arrived at a diving center with all the necessary equipment, suits, fins, tanks. But don't worry, all of this served Henri Cosker, but for us, the visitors, it is only a setting. We went down in an elevator resembling a diving chamber to the entrance to the cave. We received the audio guide and got on a small car, which accommodates six people, three in the front seat, three in the back (44 such automatic cars are available to visitors).

The carriage began to sail on the water, entering first the first hall and then the second hall. Thirty-five minutes of slow sailing allowed us to observe the wonder of the twin cave over two hundred and twenty meters. Spectacular stalactites and stalagmites, as well as other mushroom-lamp-like formations growing from the ground and sword-like figures hanging from the ceiling. The engravings and paintings of unknown prehistoric artists complete the experience we experienced with awe.

The train stopped each time at a different mural, with a beam of light shining on it and explanations being given. Pay attention to the reflections of the light in the water and on the cave walls, its play with the oscillations of the circular ripples. It is important to understand that in prehistoric times, when the artists painted on the cave walls, the climate in Provence was like that of Iceland today. This explains the paintings of penguins (large penguins, to be precise, an extinct species), seals and fish. The Cusker Cave is the only one in the world, currently, that displays marine animals, and the image of the penguin has become its “logo.”

Most of the paintings are of horses, but also of ibex, saiga antelope, bulls, deer, bison, cave lion (an extinct subspecies), seals, penguins, fish, handprints of men, women and children, geometric shapes – abstract signs, interpreted as sexual symbols.

Also noteworthy is the “Slain Man,” a schematic human silhouette, 28 cm long, lying on its back, with two arrows striking it, one in the chest and shoulder, the other, much deeper, piercing the back and crossing the head. This motif of a human being, depicted as a sacrifice, is also found in other caves. The lack of characterization may be reflected in the symbol – it is not a specific person but rather a victim as a symbol. Researchers are naive in their belief that the paintings of the victims deviate from the abstract, but despite interesting explanations, hints, and secrets, there is no certainty.

The hidden is also more mysterious than the revealed regarding all the cave paintings. It has been hypothesized that this is a description of a myth of the creation of the world, according to which the created animals emerged from the depths of the earth. The cave itself is a symbol, a sacred, hidden site, suitable for meditation and creation, where opposites meet: security and danger, existence and death. The cave is like a womb. The symbolic meaning of the paintings, as well as the meaning of the cave in the eyes of the artists who painted on its walls, is unclear.

The ancient artists probably prepared paints using small fires, and the charcoal can still be seen in many places in the cave. Crabs that left their skeletons or lives on its floor dot it here and there.

It is so exciting to communicate with people who drew the animals they saw thirty thousand years ago and charged them with spiritual meanings! And the negatives of the hands, and the abstract signs, what did they want to express with them? The artists, who copied the drawings and engravings of their prehistoric colleagues on sponge boards from the computer models on a screen, all express excitement and pride in the privilege of communication and distribution that has fallen to them.

The panels that make up Cave No. 2 were also worked according to the walls of Cave No. 1: their natural shape on the depressions and protrusions, the traces of human hands in the paintings and engravings, the handprints made intentionally or unintentionally, the marks of the tools used by the artists. From time to time, the artists took advantage of the natural layout of the cave, here a protrusion, here a stain, to integrate their work of art into it.

The magical cruise through the darkness of the cave-cathedral on its pillars-trunks is over. After exiting the car, we head to the auditorium to watch a spectacular ten-minute film about the discovery of the cave. From there, we go up (for those who have difficulty with the many stairs, we can take the elevator) to the third floor of the museum, to the “Galerie Méditerranée,” the Mediterranean Gallery (La Galerie Méditerranée).

Showroom on the third floor

After the film ended, we went up to the exhibition hall on the third floor, the highlight of which is the life-size animals painted in the cave. Taking pictures is not allowed on the tour inside the cave, for obvious reasons, but in the gallery you can click on your mobile phone as much as you want. That's what we did (all the photos in the gallery were taken by us). First of all, a pretty general view, in the foreground of which you can clearly see a cave lion cub:

The three large penguins from the cave are an attraction because, to date, there is no other known representation of such sea animals in prehistoric caves. In the gallery you can see them more clearly than in the cave, in the same scene, a courtship dance:

A seal, also a rare representation in caves:

The view of the sea, Port Juliette and the Cathedral de la Major is spectacular, especially when it delicately captures the menacing bison: 

Bison in the showroom, photo: Orna Lieberman

At the bottom of the picture you can see the giant columns supporting this part of the building, which leans over nothing. The gallery floor hangs in the air over space and the glass tiles that dot it made us worried… but don’t worry, more than a million visitors have already stepped on it and it remains firm.

And another view of the impressive cathedral:

View from the exhibition hall of the Cathedral de la Major, photo: Orna Lieberman

Besides the impressive animal models, you can see a graceful, pregnant, and ornate prehistoric woman:

The figure of the prehistoric woman was modeled after the skeleton of a 37-year-old, privileged woman whose grave was discovered in a cave in northern Italy, near the city of Menton, in 1872. Her magnificent headdress, made of shells and deer teeth connected in a net, and her magnificent tomb with flint blades testify to a privileged status. From this video you can get a picture of this woman known as “La Dame du Cavillon”:

Prehistoric finds such as surprising jewelry (including the magnificent headdress of the prehistoric woman) and musical instruments, as well as explanations about the ice ages, complete the visit experience. Exit through the museum boutique, where you can find interesting items for adults and children.

We finished our visit to the museum with lunch at its restaurant, “Le France,” which serves the main courses in glass jars that are heated before serving. Not so convenient to eat, but I still recommend their daily special. In the photo you can see a linguine dish with veal and mushrooms and a sea bream dish with sweet potatoes in citrus and vanilla pods:

Lovers of sweets and other desserts will not be disappointed. The prices are reasonable, about twenty-five euros per diner. The magnificent view is free.

The visit to the reconstructed cave is suitable for children but only from the age of six, I recommend. However, you get the message. When you come to Marseille, the reconstructed Cusker Cave is a must!

to the museum website