Musee Departemental de Prehistoire de Solutre
We are getting to the last few days of our trip and so we are trying to squeeze in a few more chateaux and points of interest before cleaning day. Today we went to visit Solutre, the famous archeological dig set in the middle of the Pouilly-Fuisse wine growing district.
It was a pretty drive through the very green and grape-laden vineyards and we turned a corner and there it was! Sticking out dramatically over the valley is a huge stone bluff and this is where Solutre is located. This is the site of ancient human habitation--over 35000 years.
The museum at this site is an excellent presentation of the life and times of Paleolithic man. The first room of the museum traces the occupation of the site from earliest clues, through the various cultures that inhabited the region.
The next room displays an interesting exhibit of tools and a good video of the napping of a flint to form a sharp tool that could be used for just about any job, from digging a hole to butchering a deer. This film inspired the boys who all had high hopes of making their own tools with their newly learned techniques. There is a large display of needles and spear points. Other objects from the daily life of Paleolithic man were displayed so that we could get a good idea of how they lived and got their work done.
We also learned about the animals that were common here and saw skeletons and skulls of many of them. The cave lion skull was huge, and there were mammoth molars, horse skeletons, aurochs bones. There were many interactive screens to help interpret the displays and to understand the many groups of people who lived in the region over the centuries.
One of the big stories here is that the prehistoric men herded wild horses off the edge of the cliff and then were able to slaughter them and use the meat. However, that theory has been debunked and now it is believed that the herds of horses were attacked and slaughtered as they moved through the valley on their annual migration. The horses were used for meat and their hides, hooves and teeth were all harvested as well. A huge area of horse bones and cave man tools was found near the cliff.
This is an active dig site today, but the first excavations were carried out in 1866 and many of the finds are housed in Lyon and London. The artifacts that are on display, while limited, are excellent tools to help us understand the site.
Finishing with the inside museum we went into the prehistoric garden where we could see examples of the plants used by the prehistoric people--Oak, birch, laurel, grasses and wild fruits. We also saw examples of the excavations and there were two big slabs of sample layers of the dig. That gave us a good idea of how rich this area is in archeological material.
Don, Ryan, Isabella and Brendan hiked to the top of the bluff, where Grandpa was a nervous wreck trying to keep kids from falling off the cliff and joining the horse skeletons. They saw some wild horses up there and beautiful views of the surrounding countryside. Bryce and GG stayed below because Bryce's energy level is fighting off his ear ache and GG was worried about her knee giving out.
In the evening we went down to take the tour of the local chateau. GG did the grocery shopping while everyone else took the tour. It was all in French, so the gang didn't get a lot of the commentary, but Grandpa was able to intuit enough to understand the story. The big claim to fame for this chateau is their "horde" which appears to be some kind of defensive adaptation to the typical chateau layout.
There were a lot of Roman artifacts on display as well as medieval items. The chateau was
built in the 1220 and was owned by Renaud II of Forez, the Archbishop of Lyon. Up until 1728 there was a windmill at the chateau, but it was struck by lightening and burned at that time and never replaced. It was quite a long tour--almost two hours, starting a 6pm and finishing up just before 8pm.
So, when we got home GG heated up the leftover spaghetti and we had our dinner and it was off to bed.
We are getting to the last few days of our trip and so we are trying to squeeze in a few more chateaux and points of interest before cleaning day. Today we went to visit Solutre, the famous archeological dig set in the middle of the Pouilly-Fuisse wine growing district.
It was a pretty drive through the very green and grape-laden vineyards and we turned a corner and there it was! Sticking out dramatically over the valley is a huge stone bluff and this is where Solutre is located. This is the site of ancient human habitation--over 35000 years.
The museum at this site is an excellent presentation of the life and times of Paleolithic man. The first room of the museum traces the occupation of the site from earliest clues, through the various cultures that inhabited the region.
The next room displays an interesting exhibit of tools and a good video of the napping of a flint to form a sharp tool that could be used for just about any job, from digging a hole to butchering a deer. This film inspired the boys who all had high hopes of making their own tools with their newly learned techniques. There is a large display of needles and spear points. Other objects from the daily life of Paleolithic man were displayed so that we could get a good idea of how they lived and got their work done.
We also learned about the animals that were common here and saw skeletons and skulls of many of them. The cave lion skull was huge, and there were mammoth molars, horse skeletons, aurochs bones. There were many interactive screens to help interpret the displays and to understand the many groups of people who lived in the region over the centuries.
One of the big stories here is that the prehistoric men herded wild horses off the edge of the cliff and then were able to slaughter them and use the meat. However, that theory has been debunked and now it is believed that the herds of horses were attacked and slaughtered as they moved through the valley on their annual migration. The horses were used for meat and their hides, hooves and teeth were all harvested as well. A huge area of horse bones and cave man tools was found near the cliff.
This is an active dig site today, but the first excavations were carried out in 1866 and many of the finds are housed in Lyon and London. The artifacts that are on display, while limited, are excellent tools to help us understand the site.
Finishing with the inside museum we went into the prehistoric garden where we could see examples of the plants used by the prehistoric people--Oak, birch, laurel, grasses and wild fruits. We also saw examples of the excavations and there were two big slabs of sample layers of the dig. That gave us a good idea of how rich this area is in archeological material.
Don, Ryan, Isabella and Brendan hiked to the top of the bluff, where Grandpa was a nervous wreck trying to keep kids from falling off the cliff and joining the horse skeletons. They saw some wild horses up there and beautiful views of the surrounding countryside. Bryce and GG stayed below because Bryce's energy level is fighting off his ear ache and GG was worried about her knee giving out.
In the evening we went down to take the tour of the local chateau. GG did the grocery shopping while everyone else took the tour. It was all in French, so the gang didn't get a lot of the commentary, but Grandpa was able to intuit enough to understand the story. The big claim to fame for this chateau is their "horde" which appears to be some kind of defensive adaptation to the typical chateau layout.
So, when we got home GG heated up the leftover spaghetti and we had our dinner and it was off to bed.
I don't want your vacation to end I'm having too much fun. Today's adventure up the hill was fun. Glad no one fell off. Loved the horses.
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