Another notable characteristic of these caves is the time-long series of pollen, related to determined and consistent archaeological levels.

[5] They are privately owned by Mr. Gabriel de la Varende, who allows and has actively supported archaeologic research from the beginning.

Originally open at both ends, collapsing ground closed one of the caves when the underground water flow sharply diminished.

Fifteen cavities at various altitudes and of various locations, sizes and contents, are grouped in that bend of the river: Prehistoric parietal paintings were discovered by Pierre Guilloré in April 1990 in the Great cave, protected by a thin layer of lime/calcite sediments hiding them from view.

Among the most interesting paintings, one finds a mammoth drawn entirely and a prehistoric stag whose antlers could be 4 meters tall (Megaloceros giganteus), partially depicted while using reliefs in the wall.

In his wake, the abbé Parat studied the main stratigraphic sequences in the caves and those of Saint-Moré 1,500 m (4,900 ft) upriver.

[5] Dug by the Cure river in a limestone massif from the Mesozoic (secondary era), the caves were used as shelter by humans since at least 200,000 years ago.

[1] Following the time-line, the next stratum is contemporary to the Riss glaciation in the Alps region (corresponding to the Illinoian in America) and contains few artefacts, still in the same cave of the Hyena.

During this Riss-Würm interglacial, the river flooded the cave of the Hyena but not continuously: remains of human habitat were found in the 2.5 m (8.2 ft) thick layer of deposits that it left behind.

[1] After that first layer of the Würm stage 1 came a period of high humidity and of floodings; the river lever rose by several meters.

At that period some water filtered through the caves' ceiling, draining with it some older sediments and bringing some anomalies in the series of pollen analysis.

[10] The Reindeer cave (grotte du Renne) holds the richest Châtelperronian collection known to date, notably famous for its bone and ivory works.

This 25 ha (62 acres) camp was populated around 6,000 years ago (Neolithic followed by a fortified Gaul village then a Gallo-Roman fort)[11] is next to another set of caves similar to those of Arcy and that were also already occupied over 200,000 years ago[12][13] in a similar situation (coral limestone, high steep bank, concave side of a meander),[4] the fontaine de Saint-Moré (Saint-Moré spring), a Merovingian sarcophagus quarry[14] and a Roman villa.

[14] Three discovery paths[11] have been installed at the Cora camp (free access), equipped with historical information panels on the Gallo-Roman fort that guarded the via Agrippa passage.