Curbans Serpentine Rock Engravings
Gravures de Curbans · Curbans–Claret Engravings · Haute-Provence Serpentine Art
Chalcolithic to Bronze Age (Remedello to Polada)·Southern Alpine Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age pastoralists (Proto-Bego culture)·🇫🇷 Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Curbans–Claret–Durance, France
About
About Curbans Serpentine Rock Engravings
Serpentinite and ophicalcite glacial-polished slabs along the Durance river terrace at Curbans–Claret, bearing c.400 Late Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age engravings (c.3000–1800 BCE) of serpents, meanders, cup-marks, daggers and anthropomorphs akin to Monte Bego but at lower altitude. The green serpentinite provides ideal dark canvas for hammered peckings, concentrated in three valley-floor trails. Engravings show Proto-Alpine pastoral iconography before high-altitude Bego transhumance peak, with Durance ford context explaining cross-Alpine connectivity. Recorded 1970s–1990s by H. Muller and DRAC PACA with silicone casts and photogrammetry.
Why it mattersLow-altitude precursor to Monte Bego–Vallée des Merveilles, illuminating Alpine pastoral art origins.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Serpent symbolism (river vs cosmologic)
- 02Relation to Bego goddess figures
Theories
- 01Durance ford waystation gallery
- 02Proto-transhumance territory marker
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.3000–1800 BCE (Late Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age)
- Period
- Chalcolithic to Bronze Age (Remedello to Polada)
- Culture
- Southern Alpine Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age pastoralists (Proto-Bego culture)
- Builders
- Durance valley agro-pastoralists
- Purpose
- River-ford ritual marking and pastoral territory art
- Abandoned
- c.1800 BCE with Bego upland shift
- Rediscovered
- 1972 Muller survey; 1995 DRAC revision
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.2800 BCE
Serpent-meander peak phase
1972
Muller first corpus 120 stones
1995
DRAC silicone cast programme
On the ground
Structures & features
44.4260° N · 6.0510° E · 780 m · 2 mapped features
Claret Terrace — Serpent Meander Slab
slab engravingFlagstone 1.8 m with 6-m sinuous serpent and cup-mark align
44.4280° N · 6.0530° ECurbans Riverbed — Dagger and Anthropomorph
block engravingTerrace block with Remedello dagger and schematic human
44.4240° N · 6.0490° E