Édouard-Alfred Martel Édouard-Alfred Martel Édouard-Alfred Martel (1 July 1859, Pontoise, Val-d'Oise – 3 June 1938, Montbrison), the 'father of modern speleology', was a world pioneer of cave exploration, study, and documentation. Martel explored thousands of caves in his native France and many other countries, popularised the pursuit of cave exploration, introduced the concept of speleology as a distinct area of scientific study, maintained an extensive archive, and in 1895 founded , the first organisation devoted to cave science in the world. Édouard-Alfred Martel was born in Pontoise, Seine-et-Oise on 1 July 1859. Born into a family of lawyers, he studied at the
French Federation of Speleology resumed publication of the "Spelunca" 4th series newsletter with four issues per year. In 1981, printing began on the current (5th) series of "Spelunca", with a new format and numbering system. The FFS has gradually emerged as an entity representative of French caving. It is now delegated public tasks in the field of education, civil protection and promotion of caving practice in all its forms. It has maintained a membership of approximately 7,500 for the last ten years. French Federation of Speleology The French Federation of Speleology (, FFS), is a French organisation that represents all persons practicing or studying