Mercantour Vallée des Merveilles

The attraction of the Mercantour has in some places caused problems, especially on Mont Bego in the Vallée des Merveilles. More than 100,000 figurative symbols, which the Bronze Age people carved in the rock here (1800-1500 B.C. are under severe threat. The messages to the gods repeat over and over again a few motifs: the celestial bull which brings thunder and lightning; the three-edged dagger, typical of the Bronze Age; the scythe and geometric figures. "Friends of nature" contribute their own messages or help themselves to souvenirs and so certain areas have been closed and educational trails laid out. In Tende there is a museum devoted to research and documentation of the history of the herdsmen and the Vallée des Merveilles from the Bronze Age to the present day.