Un sanctuaire gaulois aux Châtelliers du Vieil-Auzay (Auchay-sur-Vendée, Vendée) ?

Jean-Marc Large (1) , Bruno Boulestin (2)

1 CReAAH - Centre de Recherche en Archéologie, Archéosciences, Histoire
2 PACEA - De la Préhistoire à l'Actuel : Culture, Environnement et Anthropologie

The excavations carried out by P. Birocheau and J.-M. Large at Les Châtelliers du Vieil Auzay between 1978 and 1993 have testified, among other things, to the existence of depressions created using natural diaclases in the limestone substratum. Their filling indicates that they have been built and re-used over a long period of time. In two zones within the excavated area, human bones have been found either in the form of a whole skeleton, or as fragments of skeletons or of cut skulls. The earliest attribution to the Final Bronze age did not make sense (Large 2004) and a new examination of the human bones has come up with a fresh dating to the La Tène period, as confirmed by radiocarbon analyses. Owing to the nature of the bone modifications on the human remains and the context of discovery, the place might possibly have been intended for a religious purpose.

Domaines: Archéologie et Préhistoire

Jean-Marc Large, Bruno Boulestin. Un sanctuaire gaulois aux Châtelliers du Vieil-Auzay (Auchay-sur-Vendée, Vendée) ?. Philippe Barral; Matthieu Thivet. Sanctuaires de l’âge du Fer. Actes du 41e colloque international de l’Association française pour l’étude de l’âge du Fer (Dole, 25-28 mai 2017), Collection AFEAF (1), AFEAF, pp.379-383, 2019, 978-2-9567407-0-4. ⟨hal-02891669⟩