1. Discovery of the Site near Mizy Farm
2. Geological and Geographical Features
3. Structure and Composition of the Cave
4. Archaeological Findings and Interpretation
5. Historical Context and Origins of the First Gauls
Discovery of the Site near Mizy Farm
In late May 1860, near the old Mizy farm (within the territory of Leuvrigny, 400 meters southeast of Port-à-Binson, Dorman canton), workers encountered flint rock outcrops while clearing land for viticulture. These flint blocks, irregular in shape and embedded unevenly in the soil, varied in volume and composition. As workers attempted to break up the largest embedded boulder, they uncovered human bones mixed with different types of stones.
Excavations revealed a genuine cave filled entirely with human bones, layered irregularly and separated by thin limestone partitions, resembling finds from a nearby site.
M. Poirer, a surveyor from Œuilly, immediately recognized the significance of the discovery and alerted the landowner, General de Monfort, who halted all work to allow for expert investigation.
Geographical context of the Neolithic cave site near Mizy, positioned along the southern slopes of the Marne Valley, within a historic viticultural and archaeological landscape.
Geological and Geographical Features
The Mizy farm stood on the site of an ancient convent, whose chapel had been repurposed as a granary and still existed in the late 18th century.
Records from the 13th century reference a village once located on the very grounds of the farm and convent. Nearby, Roman coins, Gallo-Roman pottery, and foundation remnants confirmed continuous habitation well before 1200 CE.
The farm’s hilltop marked the northern edge of a mid-slope plateau on the ridge bordering the Marne Valley to the south. The location commanded wide views of the valley and a secondary stream feeding into the Marne. Approximately 400 meters south of Port-à-Binson, the site was 150 meters from Departmental Road No. 15 and 300 meters from Imperial Road No. 3, sitting at an elevation of about 150 meters above sea level.
Geologically, the hill consisted almost entirely of ancient alluvial deposits—an irregular mix of green calcareous marl and rounded limestone fragments.
These deposits rested atop layers of lower sands, coarse limestone, and plastic clays.
Two freshwater springs supported the Mizy hamlet: one significant source from 150 meters south, and a smaller one, known as Notre-Dame-des-Neiges, just 60 meters southwest of the farmhouse.
Access to the farm was via a rural path leading from Road No. 15 around the hill from the south, bypassing steep slopes to the north and west.
Structure and Composition of the Cave
The cave’s ceiling was formed by two enormous boulders, with a third rock dividing the space into two levels. These boulders were composed of compact siliceous sediments, white-grained and hard, stacked in uneven layers.
Likely detached from the mountain slope in prehistoric times, they had rolled to the northwest edge of the hill, 12.6 meters from the farm and 46.8 meters west-southwest of Fontaine-des-Neiges.
Architectural layout of the Neolithic burial cave, illustrating its oval structure, strategic orientation, and construction techniques typical of early Gaulish funerary sites.
Though similar rocks in the area were quarried for construction, those within the cave were deemed worthless and left untouched. The cave itself had been excavated into the natural ground of ancient alluvial deposits. It had an oval shape with one end cut off, a major axis of 4.60 meters (west to east), and a width between 2.50 and 3 meters, narrowing to 1.90 meters at the western entrance.
Interior height varied from 0.70 to 1.25 meters, with a floor sloping 0.30 meters from entrance to back. The floor was paved with irregular limestone slabs (10–12 cm thick), tightly placed to minimize joint width. Some slabs showed reddish stains of iron carbonate mixed with soil.
A 30-cm-thick dry-stone wall, without mortar, aligned the side and back walls to the paving. The cave’s entrance was sealed with three large limestone boulders set transversely, shaped to fit together and compensate for floor slope (heights: 0.38, 0.45, and 0.40 meters).
An ingenious external buttressing system, composed of stones forming dual triangles, ensured stability. The whole entrance support structure formed a triangle 1.90 meters wide, 1.05 meters high, and 1.15 meters long.
The second level of the cave (1.30 m wide, 3 m long, 0.25–0.45 m high) was packed with limestone debris and human bones, interspersed with tools and/or weapons.
Archaeological Findings and Interpretation
On the lower bone layer, roughly crafted separators—of the same material as the floor and wall—formed horizontal, vertical, and oblique dividers, creating irregular small compartments. These contained specific types of bones: short or flat bones in central chambers, long bones below, and skulls above. Soil infiltrated with rainwater filled the gaps between the bones. Among the items uncovered:
Sharp silicon axes and flint knives
Stag antlers used as tool handles
Ceramic rings (likely necklace fragments)
A conical fossilized marine mollusk
Charcoal remains
Fragments of funerary pottery
Lower jaw of a large stag
Jawbone of a bear
These objects, together with the human remains, offer a vivid glimpse into the lives and burial practices of early settlers.
Historical Context and Origins of the First Gauls
Studies of the bones suggest that these ancient people originated in the East, likely from western Asia, and migrated over centuries to the shores of Europe's major seas.
The cave’s location, architectural layout, construction materials, human remains, and lack of metal objects (notably iron) point to an extremely ancient origin. All elements indicate that the cave dates back to the era of the earliest settlers in Gaul—a people at the dawn of civilization, living in a rudimentary cultural stage, yet capable of constructing meaningful and complex burial spaces.
The Neolithic cave discovered near Mizy stands as a unique testament to prehistoric life in the Marne Valley. Its structure, archaeological content, and geological setting paint a vivid picture of a distant era.
The absence of metals, the ritual arrangement of bones, and the craftsmanship in burial architecture mark this site as one of early Europe's most fascinating funerary locations, associated with the first Gaulish inhabitants.
Source
M. Le Docteur Remy, Sur la caverne découverte à Mizy, in Mémoires de la Société d'Agriculture, Sciences et Arts du Département de la Marne, Chalons, 1861
TAGS CHAMPAGNE NEOLITHIC CAVE FLAGOT VALLEY LEUVRIGNY PREHISTORIC MARNE VALLEY ANCIENT GAULS ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERY ENGHIEN FOREST FUNERARY RITUALS CHAMPAGNE ARCHAEOLOGY CULTURAL LANDSCAPE
