Entremont (oppidum)

Entremont is a archaeological site three kilometres from Aix-en-Provence at the extreme south of the Puyricard plateau.''Histoire d'une ville. Aix-en-Provence'', Scéren, CRDP de l'académie d'Aix-Marseille, Marseille, 2008, p. 20-25. In antiquity, the oppidum at Entremont was the capital of the Celtic-Ligurian confederation of Salyes. It was settled between 180 and 170 B.C., somewhat later than the inhabitation of other oppida, such as Saint-Blaise (7th to 2nd centuries B.C.).Patrice Arcelin, « Avant ''Aquae Sextiae'', l'oppidum dEntremont'' » in ''Carte archéologique de la Gaule : Aix-en-Provence, pays d'Aix, val de Durance'', 13/4, Fl. Mocci, N. Nin (dir.), Paris, 2006, Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres, ministère de l'Éducation nationale, ministère de la Recherche, ministère de la Culture et de la Communication, maison des Sciences de l'homme, centre Camille-Jullian, ville d'Aix-en-Provence, communauté du pays d'Aix, p. 125.''Voyage en Massalie. 100 ans d'archéologie en Gaule du Sud'', Musées de Marseille/Édisud, Marseille-Aix-en-Provence, 1990, p. 251. The site was abandoned when it was taken by the Romans in 123 B.C. and replaced by ''Aquae Sextiae'' (modern Aix-en-Provence), a new Roman city founded at the foot of the plateau. By 90 B.C., the former oppidum was completely uninhabited.

The site contains two distinct areas of settlement surrounded by ramparts. Archaeologist Fernand Benoit named the older area, on the summit, "Ville Haute", and the lower "Ville Basse". Subsequently, it was recognised that the latter was an enlargement of the former, and they are now labelled "Habitat 1" and "Habitat 2", respectively.''Voyage en Massalie...'', ''op. cit.'', p. 102.

Entremont - Habitat 1 (ville haute) 03 (2007).jpg, Habitat 1 (ville haute)
Entremont - Habitat 2 (ville basse), block XI from E (2007).jpg, Habitat 2 (ville basse)
Entremont - fortification wall 2 from SW (2007).jpg, Fortification wall of Habitat 2 (ville basse)
Entremont - 'Portico of the Skulls' from SW (2007).jpg, "Portico of the Skulls"

Sculpture

Excavations at Entremont in the 1940s produced a large collection of fragmentary pre-Roman sculpture, most of which is now in the Musée Granet in Aix-en-Provence. The largest group of fragments consists of the heads and torsos of several male figures, usually interpreted as heroized warriors, depicted in a seated position with their legs folded beneath them and one hand resting on the severed head of an enemy. Heads and other pieces of a smaller number of female figures are also preserved, as are fragments of horses. Blocks from the architectural setting in which the figures were displayed are decorated with reliefs of additional severed heads and skull-shaped recesses, as well as horsemen and other figures. The sculptures were all carved from a fine-grained local limestone, and some of the fragments preserve traces of the original paint.F. Benoit
"The Celtic oppidum of Entremont, Provence"
in R. Bruce Mitford, ed., ''Recent Archaeological Excavations in Europe'' (London 1975), pp. 227–259, at 250–258.

Entremont male torso 1-01 (Musée Granet, Aix).jpg, Seated warrior
Entremont male head 1-02 (Musée Granet, Aix).jpg, Head of a warrior
Entremont male torso 4 (Musée Granet, Aix).jpg, Torso of a warrior
Musee de Grenoble MG 1994-6-R Head from Entremont.jpg, Head of a woman
Entremont severed heads 1-03 (Musée Granet, Aix).jpg, Severed heads
Entremont severed heads 3 (Musée Granet, Aix).jpg, Severed head
Entremont block 1-01 (Musée Granet, Aix).jpg, Architectural block with severed heads and horseman
Entremont block 3-02 ('relief des orantes') (Musée Granet, Aix).jpg, Relief of worshipers

See also

*La Tène culture
* Oppidum

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Entremont (oppidum)
Populated places established in the 2nd century BC
Populated places disestablished in the 2nd century BC
Oppida
Archaeological sites in France
Buildings and structures in Aix-en-Provence
Celtic art
Salyes