The mysteries of Cosquer cave

Over 35 meters below sea in France’s Calanque National Park hides the entry to one of cave art’s greatest masterpieces: the Cosquer Cave. Only accessible underwater, this incredible cave adorned with paintings more than 27 000 years old is little known, yet threatened by rising sea levels. In order for its preservation and to make it accessible to the largest number of people, the Southern Region (Provence-Alps-Cote d’Azur) is creating a full-sized replica of this hidden gem and its incredible paintings, which will be presented in 2022 in Marseille’s Villa Méditerranée.

The film follows this ambitious artistic and scientific project alongside the prehistorians, geologists, craftsmen and artists responsible for the reproduction of this underwater cave on land. In doing so, it retraces the incredible history of one of the most important decorated caves in Europe, and the only one to have survived the end of the last ice age in the Mediterranean periphery.