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<< Our Photo Pages >> Roquepertuse - Ancient Temple in France in Provence:Alpes-Maritimes (06)

Submitted by Andy B on Monday, 04 July 2011  Page Views: 9991

Multi-periodSite Name: Roquepertuse
Country: France Département: Provence:Alpes-Maritimes (06) Type: Ancient Temple
Nearest Town: Aix-en-Provence  Nearest Village: Velaux
Latitude: 43.532300N  Longitude: 5.269900E
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
no data Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
no data Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
4 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
4

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Roquepertuse
Roquepertuse submitted by Andy B : Roquepertuse. The pillars of the portico, with cavities designed for receiving skulls. III-II B.C. Musée d'archéologie méditerranéenne in Marseille. Creative commons image by Robert Valette Site in Provence:Alpes-Maritimes (06) France (Vote or comment on this photo)
Ancient Temple in Provence:Alpes-Maritimes (06). Acropolis Roquepertuse was a historical religious center for the Celts. 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 in 124 BC and was rediscovered in 1860. Most of the excavations were done in 1923 by H. de Gérin-Ricard.

Officially, the findings have been dated to the 3rd century BC. This age has been established based on Celtic expansion into the area, which took place around the same time. However, the clothing and gestures of certain statues 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.

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.

Read more at Wikipedia

Note: Excavations suggest the French Celts had a taste for beer
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13 - Coudoux - RandoCool - Les hauts de Coudoux

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"Roquepertuse" | Login/Create an Account | 2 News and Comments
  
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The Beer Archaeologist by Andy B on Tuesday, 05 July 2011
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Not directly related to the above, but in Smithsonian Magazine:

The Beer Archaeologist
By analyzing ancient pottery, Patrick McGovern is resurrecting the libations that fueled civilization

A long article here
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/The-Beer-Archaeologist.html

with thanks to Coldrum
[ Reply to This ]

Early French had a taste for beer by Andy B on Monday, 04 July 2011
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Evidence of beer making in Mediterranean France, as far back as the 5th century BC, has been unearthed by Laurent Bouby from the CNRS - Centre de Bio-Archeologie et d'Ecology in Montepellier, France, and colleagues. Their analyses at the Roquepertuse excavation site in Provence reveal the presence of poorly preserved barley grains suggesting germination, as well as equipment and other remains of deliberate malting in the home. Taken together, these findings suggest that, as well as regular wine making, the French had an early passion for beer brewing. The work has just been published online in Springer's journal Human Ecology.

To date, researchers had only found evidence of wine production in the region. Bouby and team analysed three samples of sediment from excavations carried out in the 1990s. One sample was taken from the floor of a dwelling, close to a hearth and oven. The other two samples came from the contents of a ceramic vessel and from a pit. There were carbonized plant remains in all three samples, dominated by barley.

The barley grains identified were poorly preserved and predominantly sprouted (90 percent of the sample), suggesting that they were carbonized at the end of the malting process and before the grinding of dry malt. The neighboring oven is likely to have been used to stop the germination process at the desired level for beer making, by drying and roasting the grain.

Based on the equipment found at the Roquepertuse dwelling, the authors suggest that the habitants soaked the grain in vessels, spread it out and turned it during germination on the flat paved floor area, dried the grain in the oven to stop germination, and used domestic grindstones to grind the malted grain. Then hearths and containers were likely used for fermentation and storage.

The authors conclude: "The Roquepertuse example suggests that beer was really produced within the context of domestic activities. Compared to other archaeobotanical and archaeological evidence, it contributes to portraying a society which combined an intricate use of various alcoholic beverages including beer, which was probably of long-standing local tradition, and wine, which was, at least in part, promoted by colonial contacts with Mediterranean agents."

More information: Bouby L et al (2011). Never mind the bottle. Archeobotanical evidence of beer-brewing in Mediterranean France and consumption of alcoholic beverages during the 5th Century BC. Human Ecology; DOI

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-06-early-french-beer.html
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