Speleology - Norbert Casteret - Page 4

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Norbert Casteret in the cave of Montespan in 1949.

(extract from the newspaper "Ouest-Eclair" of February 5th, 1924)

The discovery of the Montespan cave is due to the exploit of a sportsman, Norbert Casteret, former champion of the 110 metre hurdles and former three-quarters of the Harlequins rugby team. He was certainly the precursor of modern speleology.

This discovery was spectacular by the presence of clay models: a headless bear, crouching, at the back train wide and collected 1.10 meter long and 0.6 meter high. On the ground, at the level of the head, the skull of a bear cub. But also three horses, felines. The bodies of these animals are riddled with blows from assegai. These statues dating from the Upper Paleolithic, 35,000 to 10,000 years BC, are the oldest modeled clay statues discovered to date.