Abri Gay

About

The Gay shelter is a fairly large rock shelter located in the Jura massif in the commune of Poncin, Ain, France. In particular, he delivered Magdalenian and Azilian remains.

Situation: The Gay Shelter is located 1.5 km west of the town of Poncin and 700 m downstream of the Colombière Cave, on the opposite left bank of the Ain, at an altitude of 275 m.

History: J. Pissot and Dr. The Teissier conducted a first excavation of the site in the 1930s. They identified a dozen archaeological levels. A sedimentological and palynological study of the shelter, conducted in 1980 over more than 10 m deep, revealed a human occupation ranging from the Gallo-Roman era to the final Magdalenian.

The Gay Shelter is one of eight caves in the Jura region and the Rhododian basin that delivered Azilian artifacts, in this case eleven pebbles painted and/or engraved, dated in 1980 11,660 years +/- 240 years before the present (AP), very similar to those discovered in the Mas-d'Azil cave in Ariège.

Protection: Gay Shelter has been on the list of Ain's listed natural sites since June 24th...