On Tuesday 22 July, the Sovereign Prince visited the prehistoric excavation site of Caune de l'Arago in the Pyrénées-Orientales, a place humming with activity and one of the world's biggest prehistoric sites.
The day opened with a tour of the Museum of Prehistory's multidisciplinary research laboratories, home to the famous Tautavel Man skull, Arago XXI, dated to 450,000 years.
In the afternoon, H.S.H. Prince Albert II met with the Mayor of Tautavel, Mr Guy Ilary, before attending a conference held in the auditorium of Tautavel's Convention Centre given by Professor Henry de Lumley, Director of the Institute of Human Palaeontology in Paris, on the subject of 50 years of research in Caune de l’Arago.
The conference was followed by an introduction to Tome I of the Caune de l'Arago monograph entitled "Geographical framework, History, Geological context, Quaternary formations of the Tautavel plain, Karst cavities, Cave formation and evolution, Excavation and research methods"*, given by Mr Joël Bertrand, Director General for Research at the CNRS, and Ms Blandine Genthon, Secretary General of CNRS Editions.
As the Honorary President of the Institute of Human Palaeontology established in 1910 by HSH Prince Albert I of Monaco, the Sovereign Prince closed the event with a short speech.
*“Cadre géographique, Historique, Contexte géologique, Formations quaternaires de la plaine de Tautavel, Cavités karstiques, Formation et évolution de la grotte, Méthodes de fouilles et d’étude”
