Geophysical measurements were carried out around Saulges caves that sought to highlight the local karstic morphologies and the impact on preservation ofarchaeologicalmaterialwithinthe caves.Electricalresistivity tomographies (ERTs) and apparent conductivity mapping detected a soil cover on the plateausthat ends abruptly over fractured limestone or over a bowl-shaped structure filled with clay soil. Moreover, there is at least one zone of soil accumulation with a basin form with almost no soil cover around this structure. The ERT and seismic refraction tomography (SRT) detected an important anomaly in the valley. Many clues indicate that this anomaly is a karstic conduit filled with water orclay.Therefore, somekarstic dissolutionzoneshavebeenfoundandonlygeophysicalmethodsareableto detect such features. Detection of preferential pathways could help to protect prehistoric art within the caves and new karstic morphologies help to better understand this karstic system.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.