Between 1837 and 1870, Paul Tournal, from Narbonne, was a corresponding member of the Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques. In December 1865, he was appointed a correspondent of the Commission de Topographie des Gaules. A prehistorian before the word existed and a protector of heritage, Paul Tournal was also the founder of the musée de Narbonne and the local archaeological commission. This engraving from a drawing by Jules Boilly shows him in approximately 1830.