Conference - L'abri de la roche au castor

Organised by the Friends of the Museum.
By Claire HOUMARD, Junior Professor, Université de Franche-Comté, Laboratoire Chrono-environnement de Besançon / Christophe CUPILLARD, Retired Research Engineer, SRA de Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Laboratoire Chrono-environnement de Besançon.
As part of a Collective Research Project, new research is being undertaken in the Upper Doubs Valley, in an area now known as La Roche au Castor (the Beaver's Rock) due to the presence of beaver teeth among the archaeological remains discovered. The first test pits, dug in the summer of 2023, uncovered numerous bone fragments belonging to wild species and microfauna, flint remains, a ceramic sherd and a handle (dated to the early Middle Neolithic), and confirmed the presence of occupations dating from the late Mesolithic to the Middle Neolithic. The first dates obtained suggest several occupations between 4700 and 4200 BC. The preliminary results of these excavations will be placed in a more general context of occupation of the Jura mountains.