Solutrean art at the Roc-de-Sers cliff

The Roc-de-Sers is an archaeological site featuring several decorated caves and rock shelters on a limestone cliff in the Charente forest. This site, located south-east of Angoulême, preserves a complex history of human activity spanning from the Paleolithic to the Bronze Age.

The site provides a diverse record of ancient life. In the Grotte du Roc, archaeologists found a rich collection of Perigordian stone tools and bone objects, including needles, lissoirs, and even decorated scissors made from reindeer bone. The site has also yielded remains of the Saiga antelope. Further exploration revealed a burial from approximately 3020 BC containing three skeletons placed side-by-side under stone slabs, a much later arrival than the prehistoric art.

The site is notable for its Solutrean art, which consists of 14 carved blocks. These blocks formed a frieze on a wall that collapsed, making the reconstruction of the original layout difficult. The carvings depict horses, ibexes, and a bison, along with a remarkable scene of a human carrying a staff on their shoulder pursued by a bovid identified as a muskox. One block even retained traces of pigment, showcasing techniques of both relief carving and open-air engraving.

Since May 2015, the site has been developed for the public with a platform and an interpretation space. While the original sculptures are preserved in the museum of archaeology in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, a reproduction of the frieze is displayed on-site to show how the art originally appeared on the cliff face.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons