Entremont is a

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology a ...

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 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 ...

at Entremont was the capital of the Celtic-Ligurian confederation of

Salyes The Salyes or Salluvii (Greek: ) were an ancient Celto-Ligurian people dwelling between the Durance river and the Greek colony of Massalia during the Iron Age. Although earlier writers called them 'Ligurian', Strabo used the denomination 'Celto-l ...

. 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.« Histoire d'Aix »
, site de l'office du tourisme d'Aix-en-Provence. By 90 B.C., the former oppidum was completely uninhabited. The site contains two distinct areas of settlement surrounded by ramparts. Archaeologist

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 ...

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. Finds from the site are displayed at

Musée Granet The Musée Granet is a museum in the quartier Mazarin, Aix-en-Provence, France devoted to painting, sculpture and archeology. In 2011, the museum received 177,598 visitors. History The museum, adjacent to the Church of Saint-Jean-de-Malte, first ...

and include statues,

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

s and impressive severed heads.

References

See also