Le Mas-d'Azil

Le Mas-d'Azil (French pronunciation: [lə mas dazil]; Occitan: Lo Mas d'Asilh) is a commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France, containing a cave that is the typesite for the prehistoric Azilian culture. The Grotte du Mas d'Azil (sometimes hyphenated, sometimes not) is a "supersite" with rich remains of human usage from about 30,000 years ago, and is also a key site for the preceding Magdalenian culture. The D119 road runs right through the large cave, which is a natural tunnel 420 metres long and 50 metres high.^[3]

Le Mas-d'Azil
Commune
The church of Saint-Etienne
Coat of arms
Location of Le Mas-d'Azil
Le Mas-d'Azil Show map of France Le Mas-d'Azil Show map of Occitanie
Coordinates: 43°04′54″N 1°21′41″E
Country	France
Region	Occitania
Department	Ariège
Arrondissement	Saint-Girons
Canton	Arize-Lèze
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Raymond Berdou[1]
Area 1	39.36 km2 (15.20 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]	1,236
• Density	31/km2 (81/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	09181 /09290
Elevation	275–580 m (902–1,903 ft) (avg. 320 m or 1,050 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1962	1,643	—
1968	1,682	+2.4%
1975	1,568	−6.8%
1982	1,404	−10.5%
1990	1,307	−6.9%
1999	1,117	−14.5%
2008	1,226	+9.8%

See also

• Communes of the Ariège department