Beneath the Jardin Exotique, in a cave first explored more than a century ago, Monaco's deepest history is still being written.
The Museum of Prehistoric Anthropology, founded by Prince Albert I in 1902, will run its Fouille-École Internationale Monaco 2026 from September 8 to 30 at the Grotte de l'Observatoire, inviting participants to excavate archaeological layers dating between 250,000 and 200,000 years old.
These layers, according to the museum, represent the earliest known evidence of human occupation anywhere in the Principality, offering a window onto the early humans who once moved along the Mediterranean coastline long before Monaco existed as a place with a name. The cave itself has drawn researchers since excavations began in 1916, revealing traces of Homo erectus, Neanderthals and Homo sapiens across roughly 300,000 years of intermittent habitation.
The three week programme is built for hands-on learning, splitting time between fieldwork and post-excavation analysis. Participants will train in stratigraphic excavation, field data recording, archaeological surveying, and the careful in situ study of artefacts as they emerge from the ground. Applications, consisting of a CV and cover letter, are now open through the museum directly.
Long before the Casino, long before the Grand Prix, this stretch of rock was simply a place people came back to. This September, for three weeks, it will be again.