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“Resort, Liberty, Altitude…”

With our Activity Pass packages you can fill your entire holiday with activities galore, get a fresh vision of summer in the mountains and (re)discover Haute Maurienne Vanoise like never before!

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Val Cenis Sollières

Archaeology Museum

Some 5,600 years ago, the first Neolithic livestock farmers settled in the cave of Les Balmes in Sollières-Sardières. Discover how they went about their daily lives!

The museum

Val Cenis Solliere Intemporel Musee D Archeologie Visite3@d Rault 2018

Val Cenis Solliere Intemporel Musee D Archeologie Salle3@d Rault 2018

Val Cenis Solliere Intemporel Musee D Archeologie Poterie Pointe Fleche Peigne@d Rault 2018@ Fl Laurenceau

A unique opportunity to observe the site’s 3,000 years of occupation

For lucky visitors, the tour unfolds to reveal the day-to-day lives of the Balmes cave’s inhabitants over a period spanning 3,000 years…

The exhibition is organised into themes, such as: interaction with other cultures and their influences on ceramics, jewellery, etc.; technical development of tools such as arrowheads made of flint, then polished greenstone and eventually bronze; and the perfect command of stone polishing techniques.

Find all the latest news on the official website

www.archeologie-sollieres-sardieres.com

Just as if you were there..

The highlight of the tour is a reconstituted Neolithic dwelling from when the Balmes cave was first inhabited 5,600 years ago.

This is an accurate reproduction of the cave’s different areas, with a “kitchen area” featuring ceramic and birch-bark containers, a millstone for grinding grain and a food cooking pot of southern influence.

There’s also the “workshop” where utensils were made from bone or antlers and arrowheads from greenstone found locally.

Val Cenis Solliere Intemporel Musee D Archeologie Visite@d Rault 2018

The cave of Les Balmes

An exceptional archaeological site!

The cave is located 150 metres above the River Arc, dominating the valley and the village of Val Cenis Sollières Sardières. It was used as a cheese cellar during the 19th century, until fragments of pottery were discovered by some potholing enthusiasts in 1972. Archaeologists were quick to realise the importance of this site.

More than twenty years of excavation have provided fresh knowledge and allowed a deeper understanding of how the first livestock farmers came to settle in the Alps.

This cave was inhabited for 3,000 years from the Neolithic Era (3,600 BC) until the Iron Age (750 BC), and served as a dwelling, a sheepfold, and a workshop where tools and jewellery were made.

Val Cenis Solliere Ete Grotte De Balmes@othmv

Val Cenis Solliere Ete Musee D Archeologie Batiment Exterieur@d Rault 2018

Opening dates and times

Spring: From 15th June to 3rd July 2020
• Tuesday to Friday | 2pm-6pm (Except bank holidays)

Summer: From 4th July to 4th September 2020
• Monday | 2pm-6.30pm (Closed Monday & Thursday mornings)
• Tuesday/Wednesday/Friday/Saturday | 9am-12pm/2pm-6.30pm
• Thursday | 2pm-6.30pm (Closed Monday & Thursday mornings)
• Sunday | 9.30am-12pm/3pm-6.30pm

Autumn: From 5th September to 18th September 2020 & from 12th October to 18th December 2020
• Tuesday to Friday | 2pm-6pm (Except bank holidays)

Closed from 19th September to 11th October 2020

Prices

Val Cenis Solliere Intemporel Musee D Archeologie Visite2@d Rault 2018

Guided tour of the museum

5,600 years ago, the very first livestock farmers of the western Alps settled in the cave of Les Balmes above Sollières Sardières. In the company of a guide, this is your chance to observe the day-to-day life and rich culture of those first mountain-dwellers and the relationship they maintained with nature which, to them, was much more than a mere provider of food.

Prices

• Children under 6 years: Free
• Children aged 6 to 16 years: 3.70 €
• Adult: 5.80 €
• Familly Pass (1 adult & 2 children): 12.00 €
• Additional adult: 5.30 €
• Additional child: 3.20 €

Please book at one of the Tourist Offices of Haute Maurienne Vanoise.