Roquepertuse
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Acropolis Roquepertuse is a historical religious center for the
Celts The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancien ...
. It is located near the city of
Velaux Velaux (; oc, Velaurs) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France. It is near Coudoux and Ventabren. Velaux is an old Provençal village set on a hill overlooking the high plains of the inland west side of Aix. It i ...
, north of
Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
and west of
Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. ...
, in the
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (; or , ; commonly shortened to PACA; en, Provence-Alps-French Riviera, italic=yes; also branded as Région Sud) is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, the far southeastern on the mainland. Its pref ...
région France is divided into eighteen administrative regions (french: régions, singular ), of which thirteen are located in metropolitan France (in Europe), while the other five are overseas regions (not to be confused with the overseas collect ...
of southern France. Roquepertuse had no domiciles available for worshippers and has been used as a sanctuary where only priests may have lived permanently. It was destroyed by the
Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
in 124 BC and was discovered in 1860. Most of the
excavations In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...
were done in 1923 by Henri de Gérin-Ricard.


Findings

Officially, the findings have been dated to the 3rd century BC. This age has been established based on
Celt The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...
ic expansion into the area, which took place around the same time. However, the clothing and gestures of certain
statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...
s found at the site suggest that they date from the 5th or 6th century BC, instead. These statues are distinguished by their unique seated position, comparable to the upright and cross-legged seated position found in statues depicting the
Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...
. # A platform of 50 m by 22 m paved with flat stones including a couple of reused headstones, divided in the middle by a staircase made of large blocks of stone. Stone walls to the left and to the right of the stairs formed a terrace, probably one of several which had originally belonged to the complex. # On the platform was what is variously called a portal, or door frame, or portico with pillars, of limestone. Its columns had cavities in which human stone masks, as well as human skulls, had been placed. Its lintel was carved with the heads of four horses, and additional decoration in paint. At the top of the lintel was a limestone statue of a bird of 60 cm by 60 cm which has been called a goose, but is now thought more likely to be a raptor. # A dualfaced, androgynous sculpture of limestone (0.2 m high and 30 cm long). # Two statues of a figure in a seated Buddha-like position (0.62 m high). The first interpretations of archaeologists was that this was a secluded sanctuary. The latest findings, from various multidisciplinary studies, suggest that it was an agglomeration of about 0.5 hectares with a sanctuary to the north, as well as a bulwark of protection. The site is important in part because it provides evidence for the Celtic "head cult" described in Greek and Roman accounts. The site is near to another Celtic-Roman site at Entremont, which had similar relief sculpture of severed human and horse heads, as well as skull niches carved into pillars. Also see Oppidium for other nearby archaeological sites of approximately the same historical period.


External links

* In-depth description and pictures of findings: "Roquepertuse et les celto-ligures" on the Velaux city websit

* Description:
Celtic Culture: a historical encyclopedia By John T. Koch
* Current location of findings: Musée d'archéologie méditerranéenne in Marseille :fr:Musée d'archéologie méditerranéenne#Roquepertuse * Current reconstruction of placement in museum: http://pcturismo.liberta.it/asp/Dettaglio.asp?IDGruppo=46250&ID=8927 * Other possible reconstructions of the poses of the seated figures, i.e. holding skulls, holding weapons

* A similarly seated figure sculpture is shown on this Spanish webpage on Gauls and Celts, without identification of its origin elts of the Gallic Lands , http://webs.advance.com.ar/cernunnosgb/problema.htm


Literature

: ''(in French)'' # ''Le sanctuaire préromain de Roquepertuse à Velaux'', by Henri de Gérin-Ricard (
Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
, 1929) # ''L'art primitif méditerranéen de la vallée du Rhone'', by
Fernand Benoit Fernand is a masculine given name of French origin. The feminine form is Fernande. Fernand may refer to: People Given name * Fernand Augereau (1882–1958), French cyclist * Fernand Auwera (1929–2015), Belgian writer * Fernand Baldet (1885 ...
(1955) # ''Art et dieux de la Gaule'', by Fernand Benoit (1969) : ''(in English)'' # "The Celtic Realms: The History and the Culture of the Celtic Peoples from Pre-History to the Norman Invasion", by Myles Dillon & Nora Chadwick (1967), pages 294-297. {{Coord, 43, 32, N, 5, 15, E, region:FR-U_type:city, display=title Ancient Celtic religion Celtic archaeological sites Buildings and structures in Bouches-du-Rhône History of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Celtic art Salyes