In France and in other countries, from age to age, men have been digging the rock. They were taking stone, even more they were digging cave dwellings and refuges in order to hide themselves. There is a real underground world made by man : an unrecognized world full of history and hidden under the ground.

We invite you to discover it...

We are studying the artificial underground cavities, mainly the underground refuges ( souterrains-refuges) and the religious underground passages ( souterrains cultuels ).We are also interrested in the underground quarries, cave dwellings or troglodytic sanctuaries and more generally the underground world dug by man.

 Concerned countries : mainly France, but also Turkey, Spain, Bulgaria...

We give for each site a very precise topographical plan and we take pictures of the most significiant structures.

We have been working for 25 years to make a list and numerous studies of such underground sites. Thanks to this research we understand better the function of the underground passages in France and in other countries (precisely the underground refuges and the ring shaped underground passages), their age and their use, also men who used them. We tried to reconstruct their life in the cavities.

All these researches led to books of thematic and regional synthesis and to a number of scientific publications.

Looking for informations, old pictures and testimonies

If you know something interesting or some legends about underground passages, please contact us.

We are also searching ancient  photos with :

- soldiers or civilians hidden in underground quarries or refuges during wars

- quarry men or men in mushroom beds working under the ground.

More generally, we are looking for all documents about life in the cavities made by man except the mines.

Studies

Jérôme TRIOLET has a Ph.D. in chemistry and is an engineer. Laurent TRIOLET is a holder of the "Agrégation" of the University ( biology and geology ).

History

2005  Participation in the issue of the magazine Les Dossiers d’Archéologie about souterrains.

2003  Scientific consultants of the exhibition The underground passages of the Middle Age, made by the Château de la Hunaudaye in Plédéliac (Côtes d'Armor), from 15th June to 15th September.

2002  Participation in program The great scientific enigma with François de Closets, France 2 (French TV).

2001  Participation in the exhibition The world troglodytic heritage, made by association HADES, Maison de l’UNESCO, Paris.

1995-1999  Laurent TRIOLET is president of the French Society of Underground Studies ( Société Française d’Etude des Souterrains - SFES )

1993-1999  Jérôme TRIOLET is vice-president of the French Society of Underground Studies ( Société Française d’Etude des Souterrains - SFES )

1995  A study of underground passages in cliff around Valencia ( Spain )

1992   A colloboration with the service of  Inventaire départemental d’Indre et Loire.

1988   Directors of underground expedition in Cappadocia ( Turkey ), with the permission of the Turkish government, grant of the Ministry of Sport, industrial sponsors.

Members of  Commission on Artificial Cavities of the International Union of Speleology

Peer-reviewers of Italian publication Opera Ipogea

Members of Conseil d’Administration de la SFES.

Members of Société Archéologique de Touraine.

Laurent TRIOLET, member of Société Historique et Archéologique du Périgord.

Jérôme TRIOLET, member of Société des Antiquaires de l’Ouest.

Lectures

A number of lectures for general public or at the time of specialized congresses :

Brantôme, Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise, Saumur, Bordeaux, Niort, Cahors, Lavaur,  Villeneuve-sur-Lot, Loches, Aubeterre-sur-Dronne,  Ruillé-sur-Loir, Seix, Veretz, Loudun,  Linz (Austria), Naples (Italia), Beas de Guadix (Spain).

Movies

Vues sur Loire, report by Elise Charbey and Christophe Brousseau about  Art in quarries, France 3 Centre et Pays de la Loire

Watch the film

A19, L’autoroute à remonter le temps, documentary film by  Stéphane Bégoin, France 5

Découverte d'un souterrain sur le tracé de l'A19, documentary film by Stéphane Bégoin, Inrap-Gédéon programmes 2007                                                                                                                                                

Watch the film

Chroniques de Loire, France 3 Centre

The detectives of the past, The great scientific enigma, program by the idea of François de Closets and Roland Portiche, France 2 (French TV).

Chroniques souterraines  documentary film by Jean Lassave and Nicolas Stern, L'Oeil du Cyclone, Canal+

Itinéraires insolites en Touraine documentary film by  Brigitte Lucas

Dans les profondeurs de l'Anjou documentary film by  Patrick Manain

Les noces souterraines de l'Anjou documentary film by  Patrick Manain

Radio programs

In the ring-shaped underground of Le Pin (Poitou, France)

Report by Muriel Mérat in the radio program Les Forts en thème, Les trous sont partout, program by the idea of Muriel Mérat, produced by Patrick Lenoir and Martine Béguin, aired February 18, 2005 on Espace 2, Radio Suisse Romande (french language)

Press

Télévision : France 2, France 5, France 3, Planète, M6, Voyage, Odyssée (french Tv), SBS (south korean TV ).

Radio : France Culture, RFI, France Inter, France Bleue (France), NDR Hambourg (Germany), Radio Suisse Romande (Switzerland).

Newspapers and Magazines : Le Figaro magazine, La Recherche, Science et Vie, Science et Vie Junior,  

L’Archéologue, Moyen Age, La Nouvelle République, Ouest-France, Le Républicain Lorrain, Sud-Ouest, La Montagne, VSD, Archéologia, La Croix...