Caves of Saulges

The expression caves of Saulges indicates a whole of cavities located in the valley of the Erve, on the commune of Saulges but also on the common neighbors of Thorigné-in-Charnie and Saint-Pierre-on-Erve, in the department of the Mayenne. The unit is in a boxed passage of the valley called canyon of Saulges . It comprises two decorated caves and several prehistoric sites and it were classified with the Réseau Natura 2000.

History of discovered and research

The caves of Saulges are the subject of investigations since the end of the 19th century, in particular on behalf of the abbot Joseph Maillard, the prehistorian Gabriel de Mortillet and of the antique dealer Gatien Chaplain-Duparc. This last unfortunately will empty the majority of the cavities of their contents in a few years, without taking care to note the source of the material put at the day.

Prehistoric drawings and engravings were discovered in the Grotte Mayenne-Sciences (improperly called cellar in Dérouine) on June 11th, 1967, by the team of speleologists Mayenne-Sciences, directed by Roger Bouillon. Gone back to approximately 25.000 years before the present by the method of the carbon-14, they count among most septentrional and made it possible to start again archaeological research on the site of Saulges, considered as “exhausted” since the excavations of the 19th century.

Since 1999, within the framework of the research program of CNRS " Paleolithic occupations of the valley of Erve" , directed by Jean-Laurent Monnier, of the prehistorians are again present on the site.

Stéphan Hinguant directs excavations in the Grotte Rochefort and the Grotte of the goat. It put at the day in 2006 a habitat Solutréen in the cave of Rochefort. Romain Pigeaud studied the representations of the cave Mayenne-Sciences within the framework of a thesis and prospects the zone in the search of new decorated sites. He discovered new representations in the Grotte Margot, which is thus the second cave decorated with the site.

The majority of the caves of the zone delivered prehistoric vestiges , cut Silex, Poterie S, or bones of animals.

Geological framework

The canyon of Saulges was dug by the Erve, affluent of the the Sarthe, and by Langrotte, a brook which is thrown in Erve vis-a-vis the Porch of Dérouine, with a few meters in South-west. Erve notches the solid mass of Saulges on nearly 1,5 km, between the Mill of the Rock-Brault and the Mill of the Bridge of the Ford, according to direction NE-SW of the Synclinorium of Laval, with nearly 40 m of uneven: one passes from 62 m of altitude upstream to 48 m NGF downstream, while the height of the plate varies between 100 and 105 m NGF. More in South-west, the substrate changes nature and one passes to Schiste of Laval, of time Dévonien. The valley of Langrotte, as for it, starts on Right Bank of Erve, with the height of the Mill of the Twin, between the plate of Hallays (commune of Saint-Pierre-on-Erve) and that of Bidaudière (commune of Saulges). She shows about fifteen meters of uneven.

This Canyon has a structure compartmentalized by many oblique faults compared to the principal structure. The cavities while resulting would be nearly about thirty. Their galleries are directed along two directions: one “Norman”, i.e. WSW-ENE, the other Hercynien, i.e. NW-SE. They present a filling containing red sands, made up of sands and gravels, containing deteriorated sandstones, quartz, Quartzite S, schists and rollers of Calcaire S - of age Pléistocène supposed - and of clays of red Illuviation of type Terra rossa .

Caves of Saulges

Caves located on the commune of Saulges

Coudreuse caves or caves of Havardières

They are two convergent corridors, located at approximately 40 m of the cave of Hallays. They are on the wooded slope which dominates a clearing. Discovered by the priest of Saulges, the Coudreuse abbot, about 1876, the Coudreuse caves were excavated per G. Chaplain-Duparc in 1876-77. They were removed obstructions from by Loiseau towards 1970.

Caves located on the commune of Saint-Pierre-on-Erve

Cave of the Attic window

Rochefort cave

The Rochefort Cave is a prehistoric site which delivered vestiges of various times but is especially known for the presence of Solutréen (Paléolithique superior).

Cave of the goat

The cave of the goat is a prehistoric site which delivered in particular vestiges of the Paléolithique superior but also of the Paléolithique means and faunal vestiges of average Pleistocene.

Caves located on the commune of Thorigné-in-Charnie

Cave Mayenne-Sciences

The Cave Mayenne-Sciences is a prehistoric site and a decorated Grotte having delivered representations allotted to the Gravettien.

Margot cave

The Margot cave or Cellar with Margot is an archeological site and a Grotte decorated located on the commune of Thorigné-in-Charnie.

Cave of the Furnace

The Cave of the Furnace is located at a hundred meters in the west of the Porch of Dérouine, at the top of the slope which borders cliff. In 1965-68, Rene Knight and Paul Marchais undertake there removals of obstructions which lead them in series of small narrow networks to multiple entries.

The Cave of the Furnace was excavated per G. Chaplain-Duparc in 1876.

Rene-Paul cave or cave of the English

A group of English discovers the first room in 1967. In 1968, R. Chevalier and P. Marchais start a long removal of obstructions and find the continuation of the network which they explore and topographient entirely.

Cave of Erve, Richard Cave or Cave of the Mill of the Brault Rock

The cave is known and excavated per G. Chaplain-Duparc in 1875. Meanwhile, its vault was destroyed to build a hangar there. In 1980, the GSASCB of Rouen notices a draft and removes obstructions from a passage which delivers access following the cave, baptized Richard cave of the name of the owner of the places.

Cave of the Vipers

The entry of the cave is excavated without success per G. Chaplain-Duparc in 1877. Its major part is regarded as most interesting by the biospeologists. The cave, very near to the river, is bathed by the tablecloth of Erve.

Cave of Hardrays

This cavity, with approximately 50 meters of the Mill of Hardrays, Western part of the career, has only one artificial entry. The dip of the ground is inclined there gently on ten meters to a siphon.

Cave Rope-maker

This cavity is in the east of the Margot cave, to 600 m of the buildings of the Rock-Brault, at the top of the wooded slope which borders the river. The work of removal of obstructions, undertaken by speleologists of association E.S.A. in the years 1970, did not give results.

She was excavated per G. Chaplain-Duparc in 1877.

Cave of Carrot

No information is for the moment available on this small opening, bellow of cliff where the Cave of Plessis opens.

Cave of Plessis

This cavity is to 170 m of the cellar with Margot, at the top of cliff. It is presented in the form of a vast long from 20 to 25 m, broad 3 m and high corridor 2 m, which end in a 4 m broad room on 8 to 10 m length. Three principal rooms are indexed: the final Room , the Room of the Cavernicole , which one reaches by the Puits Bibiche , and the Salle of the Egg . A junction of the cave of Plessis with the Cave with Margot is possible; it seems indeed that the two cavities communicate by a siphon, sinisterly called the Salle of the Skeletons . According to Scrofule, the bulletin of the GSASCB, “there exists on the surface, between the two cavities, several collapses located on this hypothetical course” between Plessis and Margot. About these collapses, the chimney which dominates the Salle of the Skeletons emerged formerly with the free air, its probable opening is visible in the slope of the road which leads to the mill of the Brault Rock. Of this place, the distance which separates both caves is of 75 Mr.

The cave of Plessis was also excavated per G. Chaplain-Duparc in 1877.

Cave located on the commune of Thorn-bush-the-Seguin

Raymond cave

The cave is discovered in 1975 by Romarie, and is removed obstructions from 1978 with 1980 by the GSASCB of Rouen.

Cave located on the commune of Cropte

Cave of the Rock

The cave was recut by the coal face of a career, then arranged like dependence of a dwelling.

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