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COLOMER Albert, COULAROU Jacques, GUTHERZ Xavier
Boussargues (Argelliers, Hérault).
Un habitat ceinturé chalcolithique : les fouilles du secteur ouest
This book is the first volume of the exhaustive publication of the excavations carried out in Boussargues, located near Montpellier and a major site of the Fontbouisse Chalcolithic culture (2500 BC). It includes the study of the natural and cultural surrounding of the site, and the study of the achieved excavation of the West area and its three habitations. The architecture of the buildings, the organization of the domestic space and the settlement in its natural and economical context are the three major orientations. Thanks to a versatile research team, the conclusions drawn are a fundamental contribution to the understanding of the Neolithic cultures from Southem France.
Abstract
Abstract
FOREWORD (A. Colomer, J. Coularou, X. Gutherz)
The excavation of Boussargues began in 1976 and is still going on. The good preservation of the drystone structures, covered with gravel, helped to determine the general lines of this chalcolithic settlement belonging to the Fontbouisse culture. It is located in the garrigue near Montpellier where numerous sites from the same period have been discovered. The excavation is being carried out over several years in three main areas (North, South and West) and is followed by publications. This one offers a general introduction to the site, a detailed analysis of the West area, entirely excavated, and several interpretations and hypotheses.
INTRODUCTION (A. Colomer, J. Coularou, X. Gutherz)
The settlement is described in its regional setting. The garrigue covers most of the Eastern Languedoc. The site is situated at the end of a calcareous plateau above a small basin, close to several villages from the Fontbouisse culture (Cambous, Conquette, Lébous).
The complete study of the site according to three main orientations (the architecture, the organization of the domestic space, the village in its natural and economical context) is quite new for the period and the region considered. It is the opportunity to approach the enclosure problem in a different way than it has been before. The excavation techniques chosen are the ones usually used on sites on which there is time. Nevertheless, the exhaustive data recording, including stones, chosen at the beginning had to be readjusted so that the excavation would be quicker.
PART ONE : NATURAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT
1.BOUSSARGUES'GEOMORPHOLOGY (M. Ambert)
The physical surrounding is the garrigue on a folded and fractured zone. Boussargues is settled in a contact are a between plateau and basin, classical frame in this region. The geomorphological evolution and today's landscape show a slow degradation of the calcareous surface through the lapiés-clapier cycle. The lapiés morphology constitute the site's substratum and prove that their evolution has been going on until the chalcolithic period. The soil loss is a major process which seems to be linked to human occupation. It can consequently be considered that herding and agriculture were possibly practiced on Boussargues' karstic plateau during the chalcolithic, and it is not the case anymore.
2. BOUSSARGUES' ANTHRACOLOGICAL ANALYSIS (I. Figueiral)
This chapter presents the first results of the charcoals analysis.
Today's vegetation in Boussargues is defined as mesomediterranean (Quercus ilex predominant Pistacia terebinthus, Buxus sempervirens, Phillyrea latifolia, Juniperus oxycedrus). 1905 charcoals were studied and 11 taxa found, mainly Quercus .ilex-coccifera, Quercus pubescens and Buxus sempervirens.
The major place of box implies human activity. The presence of oak, in a bigger proportion than today, could be explained by a soil which used to be richer. The presence of pine is more unusual. This analysis confirms that the Chalcolithic was a time of intense exploitation of natural resources which led to the destruction of the forest.
3. THE EVOLUTION OF THE GARRIGUE (J.-L. Vernet)
This part is a synthesis of what is known about the history of the mediterranean landscape thanks to anthracology. The major lines of this evolution are built since the glaciation. The postglacial period is divided in 4 phases. The phase 1 (Postglacial age to Boreal) saw a climatic improvement proved by the increase of juniper. Phase 2 (8000-6000 BP) saw the increase of oak, mainly with deciduous leaves. During the phase 3 (6000- 4500 BP) began the decrease of the forest because of the development of the agriculture. The phase 4 (since 4500 BP) is a continuation of the previous one. Metal techniques emphasized the human action and the garrigue became as it is now.
4. THE CULTURAL CONTEXT : THE FONTBOUISSE CULTURE (X. Gutherz)
Boussargues is settled in the middle of a zone where the Fontbouisse culture was present; this group was characterized by double apsed houses and a typical ceramic compared to the others from Eastern Languedoc.
Recent studies showed that during the Chalcolithic period the plain of the lower Rhône was a densely populated as the garrigue. Ceramics and houses are different from one zone to another. The graves of the Fontbouisse group are different and of several types: hypogeous caves, dolmens; the lithic is still incompletely described and numerous copper finds indicate a local metallurgy. The economy of the Fontbouisse group was adapted to the diversity of the environment, using gathering resources (especially acorn) despite agriculture and herding. The reason why this culture disappeared is still to be found, and this question leads to several interpretations.
5. THE HUMAN ORGANIZATION OF THE SPACE : INVENTORY OF CHALCOLITHIC SITES AND GRAVES (X. Gutherz, I. Jallot, N. Mills, J. Vallon)
Enormous inventories traduce the high density of Chalcolithic sites around Montpellier. Here are presented 32 villages of drystone houses, 16 open air sites without obvious structures, 14 caves and shelters, 34 dolmens and 16 oval graves, spread over 8 communes. Boussargues is the center of this surveyed area.
6. THE ECONOMICAL HISTORY OF THE GARRIGUE (X. Gutherz)
The garrigue has been defined in several ways, the most relevant one being through its typical vegetation. The major phases of the economical history show the weight of traditional herding and agriculture during a long period inducing determinant changes in the environment. The farming economy of the garrigue totally changed recently as it became based upon tourism.
SECOND PART : ARCHAEOLOGICAL DATA FROM THE WEST AREA
1. THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE (J. Balbure, A. Colomer, J. Coularou, X.Gutherz, S.Henaff)
The 860m2 enclosed space is hexagonal, with a round structure in each corner; inside were built at least 4 houses with drystone walls and a simple or double apse ; there is another house outside. The building technique of the walls is always the same (double face filled with stones), as well as the thickness. A single door is in the North-West wall of the enclosure.
The round structures are made of local limestone blocs and have a particular dome shape, unlike the other buildings. The locus 1 is a small cell belonging to the hut 1. A swallow hole opens in the middle of the enclosed space but has not been excavated yet. A quantitative analysis of the building materials shows differences between round structures and huts or the enclosing wall.
Structure 5, hut 1 and locus 1 are described in detail through their filing and the finds. The West area was definitely abandoned after it burnt.
2. ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDS AND FOOD RESOURCES
2.1. The ceramic (J. Coularou, X. Gutherz)
A typology of the ceramic from the West area has been realized after a long work of reconstruction from the fragments, and 9 primary groups were identified. Through their shapes and decorations these ceramics can be included in the Herault type of the Fontbouisse group which is particular compared to other groups belonging to the same culture.
2.2. Petrographic analysis of the ceramic (J.-C. Echallier)
31 vases were petrographicly analysed under the microscope. Two petrographic groups, from different origins but still close to the site, were defined thanks the elements included in the filler. A distorted base, found in locus 1, has obviously been accidentally cooked as it was still wet, and this fact could be an evidence of the fire which destroyed this area.
2.3. Study of the grinding material (hut1 and locus1) (H. Marchesi)
The grinding material is particularly abundant in this West area with 17 pieces in hut 1 and 16 in locus 1. The throwing percussion, uneasy for cereals, appears to be the method used most of the time on the site and is adapted to grind acorns which have been found in big proportions in these houses. This high rate of acorns pleads for a specialized economy.
2.4. Identification of the faunal remains (I. Carrère)
Sheep, goats and a cervid were identified out of the few faunal remains found in this area.
2.5. Study of the preservation conditions (I. Damais)
The physicochemical analysis of the West area remains showed that the pH was not the origin to the lack of bones. But the soil's humidity and its low acidity are the reason of the ceramics' poor preservation, especially when found on clay.
2.6. Fruits and seeds (J. Erroux)
There are few fruits and seeds in this West area, except for acorns studied in another chapter ; they can be separated in cereals (soft wheat and barley) present at a very low rate, leguminous plants, Lotus corniculatus seeds, juniper and Arbutus berries.
THIRD PART : WEST AREA, THE INTERPRETATION OF THE DATA
1. ARCHITECTURE
1.1. Roofing types (hut1 and locus1) (J. Coularou, X. Gutherz)
The special analysis of the archaeological levels in hut 1 and locus 1 brought some hypothesis about the roofing methods; flat blocs of sandstone were fond, on top of the remains and under the collapsed walls, in a stratigraphic position already seen in other Fontbouisse culture villages and which indicates a roofing utilization, probably completing a vegetal roofing. Despite the difficulty to restitute pole pits, it can be presumed that the roofs were double sloped as it has easily been demonstrated on other sites. Several possibilities of roofing' the hut and the locus are considered: a single roof covering both structures or two roofs side by side.
1.2. Data for an architectural analysis : round structure 5 (A. Colomer)
The circular structures are the most unusual ones in Boussargues. A detailed study of the material they are filled in with, especially for structure 5, talks for a corbelled roofing and this demonstration is based upon several data: choice of materials construction techniques, shape of collapsed elements, archaeological remains, lack of fire marks.
The corbelling technique was not a technical revolution as it was known since the fifth millenary. The hypothesis of cylindrical towers, admitted until now, is clearly rejected today.
1.3. Origin of stone construction materials (L. Damais)
Several origins can be considered thanks to the petrographic study and the geological prospections. Walls (enclosure, huts, round structures) are made out of a local Jurassic limestone. The hut 1 and locus 1 roofing stones (sandstone) come from a close hill, as well as the grinding stones.
2. VEGETAL MACRO-REMAINS AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE (J. Coularou, X Gutherz, L. Jallot)
The charcoals were scattered and don't bring precise informations. The Arbutus fruits are evidences of a vegetation adapted to acid soils which have today disappeared from the plateau. Burnt fruits come all from autumnal species.
The numerous carbonized acorns, accumulated in massive piles, indicate burnt storage, especially in locus 1. The technique of grinding acorns to get flour is known all-over the world. In Western Europe acorn reserves are well attested, thanks to archaeological data, on numerous Neolithic and Protohistoric sites. Ethnographic informations and experimentations made by the authors confirm the hypothesis built upon the study of the grinding tools and the spacial analysis in Boussargues. Fruits storage and flour making seem to have been a major activity in this West area.
3. ANALYSIS OF A LIVING FLOOR : UNIT 1 IN BOUSSARGUES (J. Balbure, J. Coularou)
After recalling the major data concerning the domestic structures and remains of the West area, the authors use M. Marsac's method to study the ceramic sherds density thanks to a graphic processing. The results applied to hut 1 and locus 1 are significant, showing high concentration and empty zones. The density curves, compared to the ones made on an Italian Neolithic site occupied for a long period, traduce here a short occupation. High concentrations seem to indicate vases broken in situ. The calculation of the ceramics' volume and their position in the West area show similarities between the two hearth zones in hut 1. Tall ceramics used to store acorn flour were found in locus 1. From these informations, the authors tried to identify activity areas : storage, grinding, pots making...; the hut 1 seems to be the major living unit, locus 1 and structure 5 being accessory.
4. CERAMICS PRESERVATION AND DISTRIBUTION : FROM DOMESTIC TO SOCIAL SPACE (L. Jallot)
The author first studied the ceramic fragments' distribution in hut 1 and locus 1, including a critical analysis of the graphic and volumetric restitution of the vases and a study of their preservation. The dispersion study related to the natural floor helped to define non-anthropic action and to determine a list of ceramics broken in a functional place.
Then are compared the distribution of different types of items. Thanks to a functional typology it has been possible to describe two piles of ceramics used on the same purpose and found close to the two hearths in hut 1. A morphological analysis shows that the decorations and shapes are differently organized inside these two units. This binary partition of the domestic space can be seen as a reflection of the way the social space is divided according to specialized activities.
5. NATURAL RESOURCES, MATERIALS USED AND COMMUN TERRITORY (J. Coularou, X Gutherz, L. Jallot)
In this chapter are listed the places where the mineral materials used on the site were brought from. The limits of the territory where natural resources could be found (water, wood, plants, lands) are defined. Localizing and defining the lands potentially suitable to cultivation is a complex task because of the erosion until now.
Patterns previously proposed by other authors did not take in count this erosion problem proved on Boussargues' plateau thanks to a geomorphological study. The fact that other Fontbouisse culture settlements are around Boussargues (1500 m far) makes wonder about the relations between these communities, especially concerning the land's farming.
CONCLUSION AND PERSPECTIVES
This publication, which will be followed by others, is a synthesis of the major results and defines the problems that are still to be solved.
The questions approached here are: the architecture of an enclosed settlement (construction stages and techniques), the archaeological finds (ceramical typology), spatial analysis and the settlement's place inside a larger community.
