Blandas is a commune in the

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 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 ...

. It is known for its proximity to the Cirque de Navacelles 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 is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

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 See also * Causses * cirque de Navacel ...

at a lookout with a view over the Cirque de Navacelles, 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 is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

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 human-made upright stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be found ...

stele A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek language, Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ...

. This sandstone monolith with engraved surface had been moved from a deposit found at

Montdardier Montdardier (; oc, Montdardièr) 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 Mediter ...

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).

Megaliths

References

Communes of Gard {{Gard-geo-stub