Alliat (French pronunciation: [alja]; Occitan: Aliat) is a commune in the Ariège department and Occitanie region in southwestern France.

Alliat
The entrance to the La Vache Cave
The entrance to the La Vache Cave
Location of Alliat
Map
Alliat is located in France
Alliat
Alliat
Alliat is located in Occitanie
Alliat
Alliat
Coordinates: 42°49′05″N 1°35′14″E / 42.8181°N 1.5872°E / 42.8181; 1.5872
CountryFrance
RegionOccitania
DepartmentAriège
ArrondissementFoix
CantonSabarthès
IntercommunalityPays de Tarascon
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Marie-Françoise Kalandadze[1]
Area
1
3.46 km2 (1.34 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
56
 • Density16/km2 (42/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
09006 /09400
Elevation500–1,268 m (1,640–4,160 ft)
(avg. 560 m or 1,840 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Geography

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Commune in the "Haute-Ariège" part of the Pyrenees located 15 km from the city of Foix and 5 km from the city of Tarascon-sur-Ariège, in the "Parc naturel régional des Pyrénées ariégeoises".

Population

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Inhabitants of Alliat are called Alliatois.

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1968 71—    
1975 68−0.61%
1982 65−0.64%
1990 55−2.07%
1999 62+1.34%
2007 66+0.78%
2012 58−2.55%
2017 51−2.54%
Source: INSEE[3]

Sights

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  • The "cave of the cow" (grotte de La Vache [fr]): with distinctive archeological strata discovered in its entrance and in the "salle Monique", opened to the public in 1979. It produced a remarkably rich collection of prehistorical objects from the Magdalenian era (12,000 to 14,000 years old), including a large number of harpoons and assegai points as well as more than 200 pieces of art: bones, engraved reindeer and red deer antlers, sculpture of animals, sometimes of humans, as well as rare species for that period: panther, bear, wolves, Saiga antelope, birds and salmon.
It was one of the first caves explored in Ariège (Félix Garrigou, in 1866). A second salle was discovered in 1952 and was explored by its discoverer, Romain Robert, until 1964.
  • Fortified cave Spoulgas d’Alliat: located 100 m south of the cave of the cow.[4]

Activities

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  • Rock climbing around the caves
  • Horse riding

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
  4. ^ Maps and descriptions available in "Monographies villageoises en Sabarthès", Florence Guillot, 1999.