A
little bit of history…
The site was discovered in 1985, and in 1988 and 1989 two first surveys were conducted on Menez-Dregan I and Menez-Dregan II, located a little further west of the first deposit, to explore its potential. These two surveys confirmed the importance of the site of Menez-Dregan I, as well as the presence of its abundant stone artefacts.
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It is really in 1991 that the excavation of the site of Menez-Dregan I starts for two years. These two excavation campaigns unambiguously attest to the preserved archaeological potential, and lead to a multidisciplinary program of the UMR 6566 CReAAH which will see triennial excavations on the site since 1993.
@ J.-L. Monnier
@ J.-L. Monnier
@ A.-L. Ravon
@ J.-L. Monnier
The site has been undergoing excavation 6 weeks each summer since 1991, without interruption, except in 1996, where the post-excavation operations and analysis took priority over excavation.
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Two teams of fifteen archaeology students take turns during the excavation, under the direction of J.-L. Monnier (1991 to 2011), S. Hinguant (1991 to 2005), N. Molines (1997 to 2006), B. Huet (2007 and 2008), R. Tsobgou-Ahoupe (2009), C. Gaillard (2012 to 2017) and finally A.-L. Ravon (since 2009, and still leading the excavation today). These students come from all over France, from Europe, and sometimes even further (Canada, China etc.) to participate in the project as part of their training. Sites as old as Menez-Dregan are very rare in the world. In France, only the contemporary site of Tautavel (near Perpignan) is still being excavated. Thus Menez-Dregan represents an almost unique opportunity to excavate a Lower Palaeolithic site in France.
1985 : Discovery
The deposit of Menez-Dregan I was discovered in 1985 by B. Hallégouët, a geographer from the University of Brest, who studied fossil beaches deposits in the area. Hallégouët discovered the site when clearing cliff sections at the Souc’h tip.