Cosquer Cave Essay -- Place Descriptive Essays

Cosquer Cave Lying 125 feet below sea level, an historic treasure hid unseen to humans for thousands of years. Prehistoric humans first left their mark there nearly 27,000 years ago, but it was not until 1985 that modern humans discovered these treasures. This ancient landmark is now known as Cosquer Cave. It is a unique cave not only for the images found there, but also because of its unusual entrance. The cave is located on Cape Morgiou, in the Calanques, which is near Marseilles (â€Å"The Cosquer Cave†). Marseilles is in the south of France along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The only entrance to the cave is through a tunnel that is 125 feet below the water and 575 feet long (â€Å"Cosquer Grotto†). This long, sloping tunnel leads to the large, air-filled main chamber of the cave. Cosquer Cave is named after its discoverer, professional deep-sea diver Henri Cosquer. Cosquer discovered this cave by accident while on a dive in 1985. Although he visited the cave several times after the initial discovery, he was unable to reach the main chamber until September of 1985. Upon discovering the main chamber, he noticed calcite draperies, submerged stalagmites and crystals of aragonite, but nothing else. It was not until 1991 that Cosquer finally alerted officials of his discovery (Jaobs â€Å"Grotto Cosquer†). This was prompted by his finding of the first painting in the cave, a stenciled hand done in red. After notifying the officials, explorers began an intensive search for more artwork. Their findings were amazing. To date, there are about 125 documented images of animals, and fifty-five stenciled hands found in the cave (Jaobs â€Å"Grotto Cosquer†). As in many other caves, silhouettes and stencils o... .... â€Å"Archaeology: Cave Beneath the Sea.† http://daphne.palmar.edu/mhudelson/Videos/CaveBeneathSea_WA.html â€Å"Cassis, 27 000 years of prehistory and history: Cosquer’s Cave.† http://www.cassis.enprovence.com/anglais/histoire.html â€Å"The Cosquer Cave.† http://www.culture.fr/culture/archeosm/en/img0013.htm â€Å"The Cosquer Cave: Marine Animals.† http://www.culture.fr/culture/archeosm/en/co-ping.htm â€Å"Cosquer Grotto.† Harcourt School Publishers. http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/cavepaintings/cosquer.html Duckeck, Jochen. â€Å"Grotte Cosquer.† http://www.bubis.com/showcaves/english/fr/caves/Cosquer.html Jaobs, James Q. â€Å"Grotto Cosquer: The Dawn of Prehistoric Rock Art.† http://www.geocites.com/archaeogeo/paleo/dawn.html