Cabasson, FR being encounter — October 17, 1954

Hunter Maxime Pignatelli’s October 1954 report is often catalogued under Cabasson, but later family testimony places it near Les Iscles, on the Durance close to Corbières. While hunting with his dog, he reportedly noticed a low, oval object among vegetation, approximately three or four metres across. Early summaries describe two small helmeted figures; the later account more cautiously describes two child-sized heads visible above its upper edge. Pignatelli fled and hid in a ditch. The dog, which had approached the object, reportedly returned with difficulty using its hind legs. Family recollections describe the hunter arriving home wet and deeply shaken. These reported effects were not accompanied in the retrieved material by a veterinary diagnosis demonstrating their cause. The scene remained a brief visual encounter rather than a detailed observation of faces or anatomy. The source history is unusually unstable. Catalogues commonly give October 17 and an afternoon time, while later interviews with relatives suggest an earlier October date and disagree about the hour. Geographical confusion also moved the account toward coastal Cabasson in the Var. The Atlas therefore preserves the imported date as a catalogue value while identifying those conflicts. The plate uses the supported Durance setting and month-only date, showing only the briefly reported helmeted heads.