Carole Fritz, CNRS Researcher and Chauvet Cave Scientific Director, Dies at 61

Carole Fritz, a researcher at the CNRS, has died at the age of 61, according to an announcement reported by Le Dauphiné Libéré. Since 2018, Fritz had led the scientific team of the national archaeological operation at the Chauvet-Pont d'Arc cave. The news was published by lejournaldesarts.fr on 6 October 2026 in its Patrimoine section. Fritz's role placed her at the head of research at one of the most celebrated prehistoric painted caves, a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Ardèche region of France. Her death removes a central figure from the leadership of the Chauvet scientific project, which she had directed for years. The item appeared alongside other heritage coverage on the same date, including a report on Greek restitution efforts involving 48 religious objects exchanged with Bulgaria, a development tied to Athens' dispute with London over the Parthenon sculptures, written by Emma Boutier. Other recent heritage and museum stories on the site included the reopening of the Escurial museums in Madrid, Spain, after ten years of closure, with 21 works shown permanently for the first time; a new museum of modern and contemporary art in Piedmont, Italy, created through a donation by Fanny Usellini, daughter of painter Gianfilippo Usellini; and the abandonment by the new municipal government in Les Sables-d'Olonne of the planned Nacéo maritime museum near the Tour d'Arundel.