Wednesday 15 March 2006, at Orleans, Nicole Pot, Director General of Inrap, Henri Stouff, President of Cofiroute, André Broto, Construction Director of Cofiroute, André Viau, Prefect of the Région Centre, Isabelle Balsamo, Deputy Director of the Heritage Directorate of the Ministry of Culture (DAPA), and Laurent Bourgeau, Principal Archaeology Curator of the Région Centre, presented the first results of this campaign of excavations.
This long-term operation occupied both developers and archaeologists for 7 years. Work started with fieldwalking in 1997, followed by numerous evaluations then 56 excavations, and came to an end in September 2005.
Up to 160 archaeologists worked over a distance of 140 km and an area of 1,600 hectares.
Over the last section of the Autoroute A85 (60km and 760 hectares) the excavations brought to light 3 major sites. At Mareuil-sur-Cher (41), there were remains from the Middle Neolithic to the Gallo-Roman period. At Sublaines (37) twenty Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic settlements supplied important and abundant data, of high quality. Finally, the Site of Angé (14) furnished a Middle Palaeolithic level, much frequented by Neanderthal man, more than 90,000 years ago.
This long-term operation occupied both developers and archaeologists for 7 years. Work started with fieldwalking in 1997, followed by numerous evaluations then 56 excavations, and came to an end in September 2005.
Up to 160 archaeologists worked over a distance of 140 km and an area of 1,600 hectares.
Over the last section of the Autoroute A85 (60km and 760 hectares) the excavations brought to light 3 major sites. At Mareuil-sur-Cher (41), there were remains from the Middle Neolithic to the Gallo-Roman period. At Sublaines (37) twenty Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic settlements supplied important and abundant data, of high quality. Finally, the Site of Angé (14) furnished a Middle Palaeolithic level, much frequented by Neanderthal man, more than 90,000 years ago.
