Parc Archeologique des Roches Gravees

At Trois-Rivières a group of boulders in a garden above the sea carries petroglyphs pecked into the andesite by the island's pre-Columbian inhabitants, generally attributed to Arawak-speaking peoples and dated to roughly the third to the ninth centuries. Faces, figures and geometric designs are spread across around thirty carved rocks. The site was laid out as an archaeological park with planted beds of the food and useful plants those communities grew.

The main sights

• The carved boulders - around thirty rocks with pecked faces and figures.
• The stylised faces - the dominant motif across the site.
• The plant beds - the food and useful species the carvers cultivated.
• The garden setting - the park laid out around the boulders above the sea.

When to go

December to April is the driest. Raking light in the morning or late afternoon shows the carvings best. The park keeps daytime hours and closes on some days.

Things to know

The carvings are worn and hard to see in flat light. Interpretation is largely in French. The site is small and an hour covers it.

Nearby

Trois-Rivieres is beside it, and the Saintes ferry leaves from the town.

Key facts