Around Mont Bégo (2872m, Tende), almost 40,000 3,300-year-old rock engravings cover 17 km² between the Merveilles and Fontanalbe valleys. Classified as a historic monument, this site is one of the largest petroglyph complexes in Europe.
Located in the heart of the Mercantour National Park, the Merveilles and Fontanalba valleys are an exceptional archaeological site. They are home to over 35,000 protohistoric rock engravings, plus some 5,000 more recent engravings of pastoral or military origin. These works, produced between the Neolithic and early Bronze Ages, bear witness to a human presence and symbolic practices dating back several millennia.
At the end of the XIXᵉ century, Clarence Bicknell revealed to the general public these engravings, which adorn glacier-polished rocks or erratic boulders. The motifs fall into two main categories: "V"-shaped grooves, corresponding to schematic tracings or inscriptions, generally of later date; and circular depressions called cupules, characteristic of the Bronze Age.
The latter, obtained by percussion, represent horned figures (often cattle), weapons (daggers, halberds, axes), anthropomorphs and various geometric motifs (spirals, networks, grids, etc.). Their meaning remains uncertain, but they are most often interpreted as the expression of religious or spiritual beliefs.
The engravings cover 3,700 rocks spread over almost 1,400 hectares, within a 4,000-hectare territory spanning seven valleys at altitudes of over 2,000 metres, around Mont Bégo (2,872 m) and Rocher des Merveilles (2,659 m). Six of these valleys are in France: Vallauretta, Valmasque, Col du Sabion, Lac Sainte-Marie, and the Merveilles (972 ha) and Fontanalba (486 ha) valleys, which are particularly rich in engravings.
The concentration of engravings around Mont Bégo, in the commune of Tende, has led many researchers to consider this peak a sacred site. The distribution of engravings is roughly equivalent between the two main valleys, the Vallée des Merveilles to the west and the Vallée de Fontanalba to the north of Mont Bégo.
The archaeological sites are easily accessible from the Roya valley, notably from the Lac des Mesches and the hamlet of Casterino. They can be explored freely by following the paths marked out by the Mercantour National Park, but guided tours are organized from mid-June to the end of September in both valleys. Visits on request can also be booked with approved guides.
Finally, the Vallée des Merveilles is part of the Route de la Préhistoire, a cultural itinerary that highlights the historical and symbolic wealth of this unique region.
At the end of the XIXᵉ century, Clarence Bicknell revealed to the general public these engravings, which adorn glacier-polished rocks or erratic boulders. The motifs fall into two main categories: "V"-shaped grooves, corresponding to schematic tracings or inscriptions, generally of later date; and circular depressions called cupules, characteristic of the Bronze Age.
The latter, obtained by percussion, represent horned figures (often cattle), weapons (daggers, halberds, axes), anthropomorphs and various geometric motifs (spirals, networks, grids, etc.). Their meaning remains uncertain, but they are most often interpreted as the expression of religious or spiritual beliefs.
The engravings cover 3,700 rocks spread over almost 1,400 hectares, within a 4,000-hectare territory spanning seven valleys at altitudes of over 2,000 metres, around Mont Bégo (2,872 m) and Rocher des Merveilles (2,659 m). Six of these valleys are in France: Vallauretta, Valmasque, Col du Sabion, Lac Sainte-Marie, and the Merveilles (972 ha) and Fontanalba (486 ha) valleys, which are particularly rich in engravings.
The concentration of engravings around Mont Bégo, in the commune of Tende, has led many researchers to consider this peak a sacred site. The distribution of engravings is roughly equivalent between the two main valleys, the Vallée des Merveilles to the west and the Vallée de Fontanalba to the north of Mont Bégo.
The archaeological sites are easily accessible from the Roya valley, notably from the Lac des Mesches and the hamlet of Casterino. They can be explored freely by following the paths marked out by the Mercantour National Park, but guided tours are organized from mid-June to the end of September in both valleys. Visits on request can also be booked with approved guides.
Finally, the Vallée des Merveilles is part of the Route de la Préhistoire, a cultural itinerary that highlights the historical and symbolic wealth of this unique region.
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