Nature Screen: The Mysteries of the Cosquer Cave

This award-winning documentary film, written and directed by Marie Thiry, follows this ambitious artistic and scientific project alongside the prehistorians, geologists, craftsmen, and artists responsible for the reproduction of this underwater cave on land. In doing so, it retraces the incredible history of one of the most important decorated caves in Europe, and the only one to have survived the end of the last ice age in the Mediterranean periphery.

Over 114 feet below the sea in France’s Calanques National Park hides the entrance to one of cave art’s greatest masterpieces: the Cosquer Cave. This incredible cave adorned with Upper Paleolithic paintings more than 27,000 years old, is little known, and threatened by rising sea levels.

The Cosquer Cave, unique in its geography and archaeological significance, was discovered by Henri Cosquer in 1985 while diving in les Calanques. He saw a cavity dug into a rock wall and decided to explore it. In 1991 the cave was authenticated and revealed to the public.

A year later it was classified as a historical monument. Since then, it has been studied by historians and researchers. Unfortunately, with the rising waters, this cave is doomed to disappear, some of the paintings are already partially submerged. The cave is currently inaccessible, and its entrance has been closed. The need to bring this unique cave to the surface and share it with the world is a priority.

For its preservation and to make it accessible to the largest number of people, the Southern Region (Provence-Alps-Cote d’Azur) is creating a full-sized replica of this hidden gem and its incredible paintings.