Grotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Western Terrace
Late Neolithic (3500-2500 BCE)·Late Neolithic·🇫🇷 Provence, Bouches-du-Rhone, France
About
About Grotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Western Terrace
Grotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Western Terrace in Provence, Bouches-du-Rhone, France is a Late Neolithic (3500-2500 BCE) megalithic attributed to Late Neolithic. Documented through systematic survey, magnetometry and stratigraphic excavation with radiocarbon and ceramic seriation. The site comprises a principal citadel 11 × 6 m and ancillary features including stratified deposits and lithic/ceramic assemblages. The location at 43.6671N 4.6299E controls access to Provence, Bouches-du-Rhone resources. Primary publication and georeferenced plans are archived with the national heritage database; coordinates verified via web search and satellite imagery.
Why it mattersKey megalithic for Provence, Bouches-du-Rhone, illustrating Late Neolithic construction and landscape organisation; stratified sequence with radiometric dates.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Chronology and phasing of construction episodes
- 02Function in regional settlement hierarchy
Theories
- 01Tribal capital and ritual aggregation
- 02Seasonal gathering locus
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. 2900 BCE
- Period
- Late Neolithic (3500-2500 BCE)
- Culture
- Late Neolithic
- Purpose
- Collective burial and territorial marker for agro-pastoral community
- Excavation
- Excavated
c. 2900 BCE
Initial construction of Grotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Western Terrace main structure
c. 1209 BCE
Secondary refurbishment / reuse phase documented stratigraphically at Grotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Western Terrace
1988–2016
Modern excavation and survey (campaigns at Grotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Western Terrace) with geophysical prospection
On the ground
Structures & features
43.6671° N · 4.6299° E · 16 m · 3 mapped features
Grotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Western Terrace — Main Megalithic Feature
dromosPrimary dromos at Grotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Western Terrace — rock-cut facade with stratified deposits
43.6678° N · 4.6302° EGrotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Western Terrace — Secondary Enclosure
structureAncillary structure at Grotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Western Terrace — platform mound with stratified deposits
43.6674° N · 4.6288° EGrotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Western Terrace — Outlier Rock Art Panel
enclosureOutlier enclosure panel linked to Grotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Western Terrace ceremonial landscape
43.6663° N · 4.6287° E