Martin Excavations

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Germaine Henri-Martin excavated at Fontéchevade from 1937 to 1954. Excavations within the cave proper, where the deposits reach 8.5 meters, began in 1946 and continued until 1954. Publications detailing the results appeared in 1957 and 1958. It is estimated that, in eight years, Henri-Martin may have removed as much as 900 cubic meters of sediment using methods common at that time. Finds were recorded in large geological units. At the top of the sequence Henri-Martin identified thin layers of Aurignacian and Mousterian, but the bulk of the deposits are Tayacian; an enigmatic industry characterized mostly by its lack of character.