It was in 1985 that the diver Henri Cosquer discovered, along the coast from Marseille, what has been called an “underwater Lascaux” after the famous cave network in the Dordogne. After several failed attempts, he managed to follow a narrow tunnel, 120ft below the surface of the sea, for almost 400ft and emerged in a stunning decorated chamber. Subsequent visits revealed many images of the horses, ibexes and deer common in prehistoric cave art, but also unprecedented pictures of seals and what look very much like penguins, including one which seems to show two males competing for a watching female. This initially raised questions about authenticity, though carbon dating of the charcoal confirmed that the drawings were prehistoric. The birds were later identified not as penguins but great auks (known in French as grands pingouins), an extinct species that looks similar but is not in fact closely related.
The cave came to wider public attention when three divers drowned there in 1991. It was classified as a historic monument the following year and the French state has conducted ever more precise and detailed surveys using laser scanners and high-definition photography. Portable devices can now also carry out chemical analysis, for example of pigments, on the spot. But the Cosquer cave is the only known decorated cave with an entrance under the sea, and until now it has only been accessible to very experienced divers. Global warming means that it is eventually likely to be submerged and that its amazing rock art will only be preserved virtually. It is particularly to be welcomed, therefore, that a compellingly accurate replica has now opened to the public at a prime site in Marseille, where it is hoped it will attract about 500,000 visitors a year.
