Gard
Gard () is a department in Southern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It had a population of 748,437 as of 2019;department in southern
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. It is known for its proximity to the
Cirque de Navacelles
210px, Here the magnificence of the valley is shown. The river's meandering erosion is clear.
The Cirque de Navacelles is large erosional landform, an incised meander, located towards the southern edge of the Massif Central mountain range in F ...
and the town encompasses one of the principal overlooks on the Cirque. It is also known for its exceptional megalithic sites. It is included in the
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
world heritage site "The Causses and the Cévennes, Mediterranean agro-pastoral Cultural Landscape"
Population
History
Prehistoric Finds
La grotte des Pins
In May 1967 a team of speleologists attempted to enlarge a natural opening exposed by erosion. Their work exposed a large hidden room 5m high and on the floor of the room they found fragments of ceramics. Further exploration uncovered tools, objects, and much scattered charcoal, up to 60 cm thick in places possibly from prehistoric torches. Theories at the time suggested that the cave served as a cellar or storage, rather than a habitation, since a lack of air circulation made hearth fires difficult.
Baume du Roc du Midi
In 1979 at Baume du Roc du Midi, a cave which opens out from the cliff on the edge of the
causse de Blandas
Causse de Blandas is a limestone karst plateau in the south of the Massif Central in the Gard department, in southern France.
Geography
The communes of Causse de Blandas are:
* Blandas
* Montdardier
* Rogues
Comunes partially located on the caus ...
at a lookout with a view over the
Cirque de Navacelles
210px, Here the magnificence of the valley is shown. The river's meandering erosion is clear.
The Cirque de Navacelles is large erosional landform, an incised meander, located towards the southern edge of the Massif Central mountain range in F ...
, archeologists discovered a walled part of the cave, closed since the Middle Ages, but inhabited continuously from prehistory into protohistoric times. Inside the walled portion, many objects including two copper daggers with serrated blades, a bronze axe, a riveted bronze dagger, bronze sconces, spear-tips, and many other
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
objects
La Baumelle
A discovery was made in 2009 by speleologists in a prehistoric cave which had been blocked for over 5000 years. On August 10, 2009, speleologists, along with Laurent Bruxelles and Philippe Galant, from Institut national de Recherches archéologiques préventives, began a 10-day exploration of the find. The entrance was blocked by a
menhir
A menhir (; from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large upright stone, emplaced in the ground by humans, typically dating from the European middle Br ...
or
stele
A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...
. This sandstone monolith with engraved surface had been moved from a deposit found at
Montdardier
Montdardier (; ) is a commune in the Gard department in southern France.
Geography Climate
Montdardier has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification ''Csb'') closely bordering on a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (' ...
5–6 km from the cave. Prehistoric remains were discovered: skulls, some covered in calcite, pieces of water-collecting vessels, ceramic shards, and a furnished hallway.Galant, Philippe & Villemejeanne, Richard & Etienne, Aurélien & Bruxelles, Laurent & Boschi, Jean-Yves. (2012). 2015 - Découverte de deux stèles en contexte Néolithique final sur le site de la Baumelle à Blandas (Gard).
Communes of the Gard department
This is a list of the 350 communes of the Gard department of France.
The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2025):Causse de Blandas
Causse de Blandas is a limestone karst plateau in the south of the Massif Central in the Gard department, in southern France.
Geography
The communes of Causse de Blandas are:
* Blandas
* Montdardier
* Rogues
Comunes partially located on the caus ...
*
Cirque de Navacelles
210px, Here the magnificence of the valley is shown. The river's meandering erosion is clear.
The Cirque de Navacelles is large erosional landform, an incised meander, located towards the southern edge of the Massif Central mountain range in F ...