Norbert Casteret (19 August 1897 – 20 July 1987) was a famous French caver, adventurer and writer, and is one of the most recognisable names in caving worldwide.

[1][2] An all-round athlete and accomplished mountaineer, Casteret began caving in 1912, spanning the era of matches and candles into the age of electric lights.

Casteret's fame began with a bold free-dive in the Grotte de Montespan (French) in 1923, which led to the discovery of prehistoric cave drawings on the far side.

[* 1] Casteret's popularity grew in the 1940s and 1950s, in part from his prolific writing – hundreds of articles, and more than 40 books with numerous reprintings in French and translations into several languages.

Two of his best-known works, Dix ans sous terre (1933) and Au fond des gouffres (1936) were combined and translated into English by Barrows Mussey as Ten Years Under the Earth in 1939.