THE PIETTE ROOM
Another prehistory room at the Museum of National Archaeology
A real room to go back in time!
Born in 1827, Édouard Piette studied law and became a justice of the peace. After the war of 1870, which shook his health, Édouard Piette took a spa treatment in the Pyrenees.
It was in this region that, from 1871 to 1897, he excavated the prehistoric caves of Gourdan (Haute-Garonne), Lortet (Hautes-Pyrénées), Arudy (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), Mas d'Azil (Ariège) and Brassempouy (Landes), and discovered numerous Paleolithic tools and artefacts, including the famous "Lady with a Hood". Although he financed his research himself, Édouard Piette did not sell his fabulous collection but gave it to the Musée des Antiquités Nationales in 1904.
However, he attached certain conditions to his donation. His collection was to be displayed in a room reserved for it, in accordance with its classification, and this presentation was not to be changed. As in the museum of the time, as many objects as possible were displayed in oak cases on red felt backgrounds.
After one hundred years of existence, the Piette Room has been restored - not renovated - in accordance with the terms of the donation. A compromise was found between the old presentation, which could not be changed, and the current safety and conservation standards, not to mention the comfort of the public.
The Piette Room is now accessible to groups of up to eighteen people for lecture tours (due to current sanitary conditions, groups are limited to nine people).
It takes us back more than a century, to the time when prehistoric science was born and, of course, several dozen millennia ago...
For more information
Nos collections du Paléolithique et du Mésolithique
Visits to this room are by reservation only, as a conference visit, for groups of 9 people maximum, from 13 years old.
Guided tours
Visite conférence - 1h
- Saturdays and Sundays at 11am or 2pm
- Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays at 3.30 pm
- Wednesdays and school holidays at 11:30 am
Consult the programme, the online agenda
Reservation required
Price: 5 € + entrance fee of 5.50 € (free for children under 26)
Discovery tour (45 mn) - Not currently available
Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 2.45pm (from 1 October to 30 April).
Reservations are required on the day of the visit, at the museum ticket office.
Check the availability of the visit before you come by contacting the cultural development department or by consulting the online calendar
Price: €3.50
Visitors wishing to visit the permanent collections must pay an entrance fee.
For group reservations, contact the Cultural Development and Public Services Department
Information and booking on 01 34 51 65 36 (from 9am to 12.30pm) or on reservation.man@culture.gouv.fr
Discover some of the objects presented in the showcases of the Edouard Piette Collection