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The Causse Oppidum is a Chalcolithic period (Ages of Humankind) habitation located on the eastern cliff-edge plateau of the Causse. This prehistoric site that bridged the European Copper, Bronze and Iron ages is also known as the Prehistoric Site of the Rocher du Causse.
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Nearby: |
Claret 10 km |
Corconne 12 km |
Quissac 20 km |
Saint Hippolyte-du-Fort 16 km |
Saint Mathieu-de-Tréviers 12 km |
Sauve 20 km |
Vacquières 12 km |
Below: |
Access |
Hiking |
It's a 2-km hike (30 minutes) in from the parking area to the archeological site of the oppidum, passing the Mas Neuf and Bergerie area about half way.
Approaching the Rocher du Causse site, the trail cuts across a large stone perimeter wall, typical of oppidum sites we've visited in the Alpes-Maritimes, with descriptive information panels (in French).
The heart of the site has the stone walls of the base of the houses and other structures that make up this "village". The original site is fenced off, but clearly visible for observation and photography. Around the perimeter of the site, large information panels have text (French) and graphics illustrating what the site was like. The graphics include drawings of artifacts and construction, as well as photographs of a 1/20th scale model that was made of the site.
The dry-stone village was first built around 2400 BC, in the Chalcolithic Period that bridged the neolithic's New Stone Age and the Bronze Age. The Rocher du Causse was clearly an observation and defensive site, with its ideal location on a rocky point of the cliff edge overlooking the vast countryside below.
Access
The Rocher du Causse site sits in the garrigue to the east of the straight north-south D17E6 road 6 km south of Pompignan village. The entry markings are fairly subtle, especially from a moving car.
The D17E7 road from the east, past the village of Lauret, rises up to the plateau in a series of switchbacks (lacets). When it arrives at a T-junction with the D17E6, turn right; the Rocher du Causse entrance is 950 m north.
Hiking
- Maps:
- IGN (1/25,000) #2742 ET "Ganges, St-Martin-de-Londres, Pic St-Loup"
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Photo gallery of 10 photos for Causse Oppidum
