The Mountain Sanctuary
In the Mercantour National Park, surrounding the 2,872-meter peak of Mont Bégo, is one of the largest open-air petroglyph sites in Europe. The carvings are concentrated in two main valleys: the Vallée des Merveilles (Valley of Wonders) and the Val de Fontanalbe (Valley of the White Fountain). For thousands of years, agro-pastoral peoples climbed into this high-altitude landscape, leaving behind tens of thousands of images pecked into the rock. The canvases for these works are outcrops of schist and sandstone that were polished smooth by advancing glaciers around 10,000 years ago.
Dating the petroglyphs directly is difficult, but archaeologists use relative dating by studying the objects depicted. The daggers and halberds shown are stylistically consistent with weapons used during the Copper Age (Chalcolithic) and the Early Bronze Age. This places the majority of the creative activity between approximately 3300 and 1800 BCE. The name of the mountain itself, Bégo, may derive from an Indo-European root word "Beg," meaning "divine lord," suggesting the peak was a sacred place for these ancient communities.
An Open-Air Archive
The images show the concerns of Bronze Age people. The most common motifs are horned animals, or "corniforms," which likely represent cattle. Many are shown in plowing scenes, yoked to early plows known as ards. Other images catalogue the technological advancements of the era, with detailed depictions of daggers, axes, and halberds.
Alongside these identifiable figures are thousands of geometric and abstract symbols. These include spirals, chevrons, and complex grids or rectangular patterns that are sometimes interpreted as topographical maps of land or villages. The most enigmatic figures are the anthropomorphs. Some, like the "Sorcerer," have daggers for hands. Another famous carving, a stele known as the "Chief of the Tribe," is a human figure surrounded by weapons and horned animals. The precise meaning of these symbols and their arrangement is a subject of scientific debate. The carvings were made by striking the rock with hard stone tools, likely quartz, to peck away the dark outer layer and expose the lighter stone underneath.