From March 15 to November 30, 2025, MuséoSeine invites you to step back in time and discover a fascinating world: the Seine Valley at the time of the woolly mammoths.
Produced in partnership with La Fabrique des Savoirs in Elbeuf, the temporary exhibition La Seine au temps des mammouths: des témoins de l?ère glaciaire à Elbeuf, plunges you into the heart of the Quaternary, a period marked by major climatic upheavals and the appearance of an emblematic fauna.
A landscape shaped by glaciation
200,000 years ago, the Seine Valley looked nothing like it does today. Shaped by successive glaciations, it offered a radically different landscape, where open plains and sparse forests provided the ideal habitat for an impressive array of fauna: woolly mammoths, bison, woolly rhinoceroses, megaceros deer? but also the first humans, who were able to adapt to these extreme conditions.
Thanks to archaeological discoveries in the region, notably at Tourville-la-Rivière, we know that mammoths were very much a part of the Seine Valley. A veritable icon of prehistory, this impressive pachyderm is one of the most represented animals in rock art, testifying to its importance to human societies of the time.
A young mammoth at MuséoSeine!
The exhibition highlights this exceptional animal, able to withstand the most extreme temperatures thanks to its thick fleece and protective layer of fat. An adult male could measure up to 3 meters at the withers and weigh nearly 5 tons! At MuséoSeine, a young mammoth awaits you: less imposing but just as fascinating, it will plunge you into the history of its species and its environment.
Thanks to an adapted scenography and accessible content, young and old alike can marvel at this little-known era and learn more about the links between man and his environment through the ages.
Produced in partnership with La Fabrique des Savoirs in Elbeuf, the temporary exhibition La Seine au temps des mammouths: des témoins de l?ère glaciaire à Elbeuf, plunges you into the heart of the Quaternary, a period marked by major climatic upheavals and the appearance of an emblematic fauna.
A landscape shaped by glaciation
200,000 years ago, the Seine Valley looked nothing like it does today. Shaped by successive glaciations, it offered a radically different landscape, where open plains and sparse forests provided the ideal habitat for an impressive array of fauna: woolly mammoths, bison, woolly rhinoceroses, megaceros deer? but also the first humans, who were able to adapt to these extreme conditions.
Thanks to archaeological discoveries in the region, notably at Tourville-la-Rivière, we know that mammoths were very much a part of the Seine Valley. A veritable icon of prehistory, this impressive pachyderm is one of the most represented animals in rock art, testifying to its importance to human societies of the time.
A young mammoth at MuséoSeine!
The exhibition highlights this exceptional animal, able to withstand the most extreme temperatures thanks to its thick fleece and protective layer of fat. An adult male could measure up to 3 meters at the withers and weigh nearly 5 tons! At MuséoSeine, a young mammoth awaits you: less imposing but just as fascinating, it will plunge you into the history of its species and its environment.
Thanks to an adapted scenography and accessible content, young and old alike can marvel at this little-known era and learn more about the links between man and his environment through the ages.
