Art & Architecture

article | 2 min

Focus on the collections

Grotte de Pair-non-Pair, bâtiment d'accueil, exposition d'ossements et de coprolithes trouvés lors des fouilles

Dive into the Pair-non-Pair cave collection!

Take a closer look at the remains of Pair-non-Pair!

Thanks to the excavation work carried out by François Daleau (1845 - 1927) over a period of almost thirty years, more than 15,000 items of  lithic industry  and 6,000 animal remains have demonstrated an occupation dating back more than 60,000 years!

Thanks to the agreement between the Musée d'Aquitaine and the Muséum de Bordeaux, 134 of these archaeological objects are on display in the showcases of the reception building .

Discover the Collectio database!

Find out more about the collections held at 76 sites managed by the Centre des monuments nationaux.

4 archaeological objects under the microscope

This chisel with an engraved anthropomorphic representation dates from the Magdalenian industry (around 15,000 BC).

This engraved bone was unearthed in the Grotte des Fées by François Daleau. Bequeathed by him to the city of Bordeaux in 1927, it is now housed at Pair-Non-Pair by the Musée d'Aquitaine.

Ciseau avec représentation anthropomorphe gravée
Ciseau avec représentation anthropomorphe gravée.

© Reproduction Francine Pin / Centre des monuments nationaux

This quartzite striker bears ancient traces of use and dates from the Gravettian industry (28,000-22,000 BC). It was unearthed in or near the Pair-Non-Pair cave by François Daleau. Bequeathed by him to the city of Bordeaux in 1927, it is now housed at Pair-Non-Pair by the Musée d'Aquitaine.

Percuteur quartzite portant d’anciennes traces d'utilisation.
Percuteur quartzite portant d’anciennes traces d'utilisation.

© Reproduction Francine Pin / Centre des monuments nationaux

This fragment of red ochre (Aurignacian period, 30,000-22,000 BC) was used as a pigment to colour parietal engravings, objects and bodies, as well as for tanning...

Unearthed in or near the Pair-Non-Pair cave by François Daleau. Bequeathed to the City of Bordeaux in 1927, it is now housed at Pair-Non-Pair by the Musée d'Aquitaine.

Fragment d'ocre rouge ayant servi de pigment pour la coloration des gravures pariétales, mais également pour la coloration d'objets, des corps, mais aussi pour le tannage...
Fragment d'ocre rouge ayant servi de pigment pour la coloration des gravures pariétales, celle d'objets, des corps, ainsi que pour le tannage.

© Reproduction Marc Martinez / Centre des monuments nationaux

This fragment of the jawbone of a Saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica) is evidence that this animal, hunted in the Magdalenian period (17,000-10,000 BC), was present around the Pair-Non-Pair cave.

This bone was unearthed in 1933 at the Roc-de-Marcamps site by René Slott-Moller.

Fragment de mâchoire d’antilope saïga (Saiga tatarica)
Fragment de mâchoire d’antilope saïga (Saiga tatarica)

© Reproduction Marc Martinez / Centre des monuments nationaux