Aven d'Orgnac

About

L'aven d'Orgnac is a cave located south of the limestone plateau of the gorges of the Ardèche, in the communes of Orgnac-l'Aven in the department of Ardèche, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Remarkable for the very large volumes of its rooms and its various concretions, it is designed for tourism and classified as a major site of France. The archaeological site of Orgnac III, occupied as early as the final Achuleen, is one of the oldest archaeological sites known to have delivered from the Lithic industry with Levallois biting.

Situation: The Aven d'Orgnac is dug in the Ronze wood massif; It is located 2.3 km northwest of the small town of Orgnac-l'Aven (Ardèche), on the north side of the D176 road to Barjac (Gard) and on the route of GR 4B. As the bird flies, the nearest point to the Ardèche River is 4.8 km northeast, the Cèze River is 5.2 km south. The Rhône is 19 km east.

Discovery and its context: The statutes of the Speleo-club of France, created in 1929 by Robert de Joly, provide for "the search for abysses to be exploited by tourism". Joly, who travels for this purpose the French karstic fields, is looking for "a new aven...