Things to See in the Languedoc: Historic Villages and Bastides: Tautavel
Tautavel is a village of some 800 inhabitants
in the Roussillon. It is located in a wine growing area in
the Catalan The
Corbières, between the sea and the mountains, at
the bottom of the foothills of the the high Pyrenees
(  Pirenèus,
Pirineus,
Pyrénées),
some 30 km from Perpignan. It shot from obscurity to celebrity
when human remains were found in a cave near the village in
1971. Their owner was dubbed Tautavel Man, and his fame is
attributable to the fact that he is one of the most ancient
humans known in Europe. His bones are estimated to be 450,000
years old. Prehistoric humans seem to have exploited this
area as a seasonal hunting ground. The Arago Cave,
where Tautavel Man was discovered, would have made an ideal
base for hunting. There is now an impresive museum in the village,
along with some of the infrastructure you would expect of a site of such international
importance. You can visit the museum, including a reconstruction of the cave,
and take various walking tours. If you are really keen, you can sign up to help
in the excavations. Museum. Well
worth visiting. Details are:
Museum of Tautavel,
European Centre for Prehistory,
66720 Tautavel,
France
Tel. : + 33 4 68 29 07 76 Fax
: + 33 4 68 29 40 09 E-mail : tautavel.mairie@wanadoo.fr
How to get to Tautavel:
By
car: Autoroute A9 La Catalane, exit Perpignan Nord; From Perpignan: follow
Foix, then Tautavel until Estragel
By train: Perpignan
Station
By
plane: Perpignan-Rivesaltes Airport Information
on Tautavel and its surroundings: Tautavel Information, Tel. +33
4 68 29 44 29
Official government website: (Recommended)
http://www.tautavel.culture.gouv.fr/
Arboretum
of Mediterranean plants of the Gouleyrous. Several botanical waking
tours set up set up near the Arago Cave. The species are equivalent to the
Paleolithic ones (despite the difference in climate apparently!). Some
255 species are featured, including pine, green oak, pistachio and olive trees,
and wild vine. Educational offerings.
As part of its programme for education and diffusion of scholarship, the European
Centre for Prehistoric Research at Tautavel offers an educational briefcase (man's
evolution illustrated with 8 skulls, fauna, tools, a poster, and an explanatory
card index), casts, courses on human evolution, a photo CD, information, leaflets
and other goodies. Contact:
The European Centre
for Prehistoric Research at Tautavel,
Avenue
Léon-Jean Grégory,
66720 Tautavel
Telephone: + 33 4 68 29 47 40
Fax: + 33 4 68 29 47 66
Web:
http://tautavel.univ-perp.fr/
E
mail : acerpt@tautavel.univ-perp.fr
Join the Excavation. Work continues on the site. You can join
the excavation. For more information click here.
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