Grotte de la Verpillière II (VP II)

View of the Grotte de la Verpillière at the end of the 2012 campaign.

In 2006, 50 m south of the VP I, another cave was discovered, which has been excavated since.

Badger hole

In 2006 to 2008, several cubic meters of sediment of an animal burrow which were blocking the entrance to the cave, were removed. By georadar, the approximate size of the cave was recorded in 2009; the radar also showed that there were horizontal layers below the burrow. The archaeological material from the burrow sediments includes medieval objects as well as Upper and Middle Palaeolithic objects. The majority of the finds might originally belong the a higher up plateau.

Excavating intact horizons

In 2009, several geological layers were discovered below the animal burrow, which have been excavated since. So far, two geological horizons carrying artifacts were discovered (GH3 and 4). Both horizons contain exclusively Middple Palaeolithic artifacts. According to micromorphological examinations, these horizons are to be considered intact. Small disturbations caused by bioturbation have been documented (Wißing 2012).

Since the 2012 campaign, the inventory of GH 3 could be determined as east-French Micoquien (Floss et al. 2013) due to the bifacial elements with edge percusssions recovered. GH 4 has not been excavated entirely, so it is not yet possible to determine the inventory. GH 3 displays interesting find distributions (zones with accumulated bone and charcoal). It appears to be possible to sort the inventory of GH 3 into two phases (seperate archaeological horizons).

Following the current hypothetical model on formation and sedimentation of the site, the Middle Palaeolithic find horizons are considered OIS 5. This remains to be confirmed by scientific methods such as chronometry and environmental analyses.

Overall, the site appears to measure about 100 qm, meaning there is potential to recognize and reconstruct occupational patterns as well as conduct detailled technological analyses of the inventories.
In the next campaigns, we aim to recover more finds from the intact horizons, as well as recover materials that can be used to date the inventories and horizons.