\paperw4260 \margr0\margl0 \plain \qj\li105\ri195 \f1 \b THE VALL╔E DES MERVEILLES\b0 \par
\par
Part of the Mercantour national park, the \i VallΘe des Merveilles\i0 (Valley o
f Wonders) on the side of Mont Bego is an exceptional natural setting and astonishing vestige of the Ligurian peoples of the Bronze Age (around 1800-1500 BC). The latter have left traces of their presence in the form of almost 30,000 rock engravings made
with tools of hard stone (flint or quartz) illustrating their religious beliefs, the arts of war, and a mastery of agriculture that is apparent from the representations of draft animals, plows, harrows, and what are unquestionably plots of land.\par