If you haven’t been to Entremont, set on a wind-swept hill 3km above Aix en route to Puyricard, I do recommend a visit. It was home to a large settlement of very fierce Celto-Ligurians/Gauls who dominated Provence long before the Romans arrived on the scene, over 2000 years ago. I visited on a cold winter’s day to take photos for my book and wondered what on earth life must have been like for these people…only being able to eat what you could grow or catch; and what was it like to have a baby there? How did the women cope with daily life while their partners were off hunting, fighting and decapitating.
The remains of houses at Entremont, north of Aix
The last time I read about it, only 15% of the site had been investigated and so much remains unknown about these people. We don’t even know what the inhabitants called the place – the name ‘Entremont’ meaning ‘between 2 hills’ came much later, and is in itself a puzzle since it isn’t between mountains at all. Perhaps more will be revealed on Tuesday 27th May when Jean Chausserie-Laprée, head archaeologist of Martigues, gives a talk, ‘Le Temps des Gaulois en Provence’, at the Cité du Livre. He will be updating his audience on the latest discoveries about the life, social structure and religious practices of the Gauls across the region.
There’s lots of info here http://www.entremont.culture.gouv.fr/en/index2.html about Entremont – in English – and the site can be visited daily exc Tuesdays, 9-12 and 2-6. Easy parking. Statue fragments and domestic pottery can be seen in the special gallery in the basement of the Musée Granet – this makes a good complement to the site visit as it has good maps and diagrams.
Le Temps des Gaulois en Provence: Cite du Livre, 27th May 18:30.
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