Payre

About

Payre Caves are prehistoric sites in the middle Rhone Valley, located at the southeast end of the Payre River gorges, in the commune of Rompon, in Ardèche, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. They derive their name from the neighbouring hamlet of Payre, which is located in the territory of the commune of Pouzin, bordering Rompon. In particular, they delivered a middle Paleolithic Musterian industry.

History: Payre's caves have been known since World War II. Payre III is a book of Neolithic archaeological material from 1941. The excavations carried out between 1946 and 1951 by E. Beaux, taken in 1965 by S. Nikitine, produce bifaces, pearls and pendants, polished axes and a copper axe. These discoveries attest to a Mossterian occupation, reshaped in Neolithic. A 1950 survey by E. Beaux and J. Combier highlights the remains of a cold climate fauna without human industry. Between 1952 and 1954, another survey in Payre I also shows medium Paleolithic industries remodeled by a neolithic or mesolithic burial, and wildlife remains including the Merck Rhinoceros. The excavations...