The Oppidum d'Ensérune is an ancient hill-town (or ''

oppidum An ''oppidum'' (plural ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread across Europe, stretchi ...

'') near the village of Nissan-lez-Ensérune,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, located between

Béziers Béziers (; oc, Besièrs) is a subprefecture of the Hérault department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Every August Béziers hosts the famous ''Feria de Béziers'', which is centred on bullfighting. A million visitors are attra ...

and

Narbonne Narbonne (, also , ; oc, Narbona ; la, Narbo ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the ...

close to the D609 (formerly RN9) and

Canal du Midi The Canal du Midi (; ) is a long canal in Southern France (french: le Midi). Originally named the ''Canal royal en Languedoc'' (Royal Canal in Languedoc) and renamed by French revolutionaries to ''Canal du Midi'' in 1789, the canal is conside ...

. It has been listed since 1935 as a ''

monument historique ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a col ...

'' by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture (french: Ministère de la Culture) is the ministry of the Government of France in charge of national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and protection of the arts (visua ...

. Oppidum d'Ensérune The settlement was occupied without interruption between the 6th century BC and 1st century ADEnsérune, junction of Prehistoric Civilisations (Nissan-les-Ensérune, Hérault)
on a hill with good views over the coastal plain, being close to the

Via Domitia The Via Domitia was the first Roman road built in Gaul, to link Italy and Hispania through Gallia Narbonensis, across what is now Southern France. The route that the Romans regularised and paved was ancient when they set out to survey it, and ...

, the Montady lake, and fertile agricultural land below. There is a museum on the site which offers a display of some of the finds on the site, as well as giving more information about the fort and the field system. Below the ''oppidum'' was the swamp of Montady, (centred on ), which is now wedge shaped fields separated by irrigation ditches that converge in the centre. In the 13th century, the swamp was drained; the ditches allowed water to flow to the centre of the circular depression, from which it was conveyed through underground pipes several kilometres to the south. The drainage is still functional and remains in use.

Gallery

External links

*
Oppidum d'Ensérune's official website
*

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Enserune, Oppidum D' Populated places established in the 6th century BC Populated places disestablished in the 1st century Oppida Archaeological sites in France Monuments historiques of Hérault Former populated places in France Archaeological museums in France Museums of ancient Rome in France Museums in Hérault Monuments of the Centre des monuments nationaux