Death is more beautiful! Exhibition on funeral rites

The Cité de la Préhistoire – Grand Site de France at the Aven d’Orgnac presents the exhibition “Plus belle la mort”, exploring prehistoric funerary practices. Awarded the “Exhibition of National Interest” label by the French Ministry of Culture, it invites visitors to investigate how prehistoric communities in south-eastern France treated their dead.

Illustration ©Tom Joseph

From May 1th, 2026 to November 15th, 2028
During the opening hours of the Cité de la Préhistoire.
In autonomous mode, no time limit
Suitable for all audiences.
Included in the admission ticket to the Cité de la Préhistoire and the Grand Site Pass (Cave + Cité)
The exhibition texts translated into English are available on the Legendr© app.

Drawing on major archaeological discoveries — some of them never before shown to the public — the exhibition highlights the diversity of prehistoric mortuary practices: individual burials, collective megalithic tombs, funeral pyres, evidence of cannibalism, and post-mortem manipulations. These practices reveal complex relationships between the living and the dead, most likely embedded in collective ritual traditions.

Combining archaeology with social and cultural anthropology, the exhibition also explores universal themes such as beliefs about the afterlife, the role of funerary rites and offerings, and the ways societies express emotions in the face of death.

Designed for a wide audience, the exhibition features an interactive visitor experience with hands-on activities: handling object replicas, building a miniature dolmen, composing a funerary urn, and exploring the investigative methods used by archaeologists. Guided tours, workshops, and talks further enrich the programme.

The exhibition will also be accessible to international visitors thanks to an English audioguide available through a mobile phone application.

From May 2026 to November 2028. Throughout the exhibition, a program of events (lectures, workshops, activities, etc.) will enrich the visit and extend the reflection. Discover it here.

Scène funéraire reconstituée à partir du site de Cabrial, présenté au sein de l’exposition ©Tom Joseph

Designed for all audiences, the exhibition offers an interactive journey combining hands-on activities, experimentation, and reflection.

Visitors can touch facsimiles of objects, build a mini dolmen, compose a funerary urn, or even conduct an investigation thanks to two large interactive displays devoted to taphonomy* and the sciences that study burial sites. Observation, hands-on activities, and games provide a concrete understanding of the work of archaeologists.
A space for expression at the end of the visit invites everyone to share their own views on death. In this space, the Le Ressort association helps to introduce a contemporary perspective on death through free expression activities and the broadcasting of excerpts from testimonials collected by the association, which can be listened to at the end of the exhibition.
Guided tours, workshops, and a booklet for young audiences will complete the experience.

A program of events on the theme of the exhibition
Conferences and round tables will bring together researchers (archeologists, ethnologists, etc.) and funeral professionals to share their perspectives on death, from yesterday to today (more info).

Scène funéraire reconstituée à partir du site de Cuges-les-Pins, présenté au sein de l’exposition ©Tom Joseph

The exhibition benefits from the scientific and cultural support of numerous partners.

Inrap participates in the scientific committee and events. Inrap is a public institution under the supervision of the French Ministries of Culture and Research. It is responsible for identifying and studying archaeological heritage prior to land development projects. Each year, it carries out more than 2,000 archaeological operations (diagnostics and excavations) on behalf of private and public developers in mainland France and overseas. Its missions extend to the scientific study of data collected in the field and the dissemination of archaeological knowledge to the widest possible audience.

The regional archaeological services of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Occitanie, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, and several museums (Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux, Marseille, Soyons) lend objects to enrich the exhibition.

The scientific committee brings together archaeologists, paleoanthropologists, and anthropologists, covering the entire prehistoric timeline and ethnological contributions.

The Ressort association offers unusual projects based on universal themes in its territory—southern Ardèche. It designs a unique universe and devices for collecting intimate words in public spaces. Since spring 2024, Le Ressort has been exploring the vast and delicate subject of death, particularly in connection with the exhibition Plus belle la mort !

Talking about death means touching on something sensitive, something intimate, something that touches our humanity.

La Gardienne, Le Ressort

Commissariat d’exposition, Cité de la Préhistoire - Grand Site de France de l'Aven d'Orgnac : Patricia Guillermin, conservatrice / Laurine Viel, recherche et collections
Comité scientifique : Aurélien Baroiller (Wessex archeology), Alain Beeching (université de Lyon), Bruno Bizot (SRA PACA), Eric Crubézy (université de Toulouse 3), Bernard Gély (SRA AURA), Mélie Le Roy (Bournemouth university), Bruno Maureille (CNRS), Vincent Mourre (INRAP), Solange Rigaud (CNRS), Aurore Schmitt (CNRS), Maitena Sohn (service archéologique Toulouse), Sonia Stocchetti (Communauté de communes des Groges de l'Ardèche), Yaramila Tcheremissinoff (INRAP), Samuel Van Willigen (musée national de Zurich), Sébastien Villotte (CNRS)

Exposition d'Intérêt national 2026
Conçue en partenariat avec l'Inrap

Poursuivre l'expérience au Musée national de la Préhistoire des Eyzies

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