dAf 64
BRUNAUX Jean-Louis et MENIEL Patrice
La résidence aristocratique de Montmartin (Oise) du IIIe au IIe s. av. J.-C.
Construction work on the TGV Nord railway discovered the exceptional gaulish site of Montmartin / La Fosse Muette. A rich aristocratic dwelling was uncovered and the abundance of small finds shows the diversity of the craft activities (metal working, pottery production...). In addition, a public and religious space was observed, composed of a small temple, similar to the famous site of Gournay-sur-Aronde, along with an attached public square or meeting place. This represents a first-rate document for the religious practices(notably for the treatment of corpses)and the gaulish warrior society, that of the equites described by Caesar.
Many questions are broached in the synthesis of this work: the occupation of Belgium, the nature of the so-called "indigenous" settlements and the religious mentalities, fed by a careful reinterpretation of ancient authors. These questions should surely open the way to a renewed approach to these types of sites.
Abstract
Abstract
1. Introduction
J.-L. BRUNAUX
The site of « La Fosse Muette» at Montmartin (department of the Oise) was discovered by chance during work for the TGV Nord. The rescue excavation, carried out under difficult conditions, was directed by J.-L. Brunaux between february and August 1990. During the course of the following year only the authors of this volume were present on the site. Though the means available were minimal, the excavation and the following report are nonetheless exemplary.
Situated on the edge of the left bank of the river Aronde, the site is only three km from the celtique sanctuary of Gournay-_ sur-Aronde, contemporary with that of « La Fosse Muette». Archaeologically speaking, the region is very rich and well known, particularly for the La Tène period. The settlements are mainly represented by agricultural establishments, dense or nucleated settlements are rare. Burial grounds are fairly common, almost always composed of less than ten tombs, most of which are cremations. The human occupation during the La Tène period is also marked by several sanctuaries. Two of these, close to the site, have been recently excavated (Gournay and Estrées- Saint-Denis).
The site of « La FosseMuette» is on a chalky plateau. It occupies a triangular area defined on two sides by the confluence of the river Aronde and a dry valley called the « Fossé de Lagny».The total area of the site is about 13 ha but the excavation concerned only 3 ha close to the confluence. These were divided up by the construction work for the TGV, forming three arbitrary zones: zone A (sector occupied by the rail track; partially observed but unexcavated), zone B (threatened by a quarry, this sector was the furthest to the west and was fully excavated), zone C (this was the eastern part of the confluence, representing the ritual area, it was excavated).
2. Presentation of the settlement remains
B. BOULESQUIN, J.-L. BRUNAUX, H. DUDAY, G. FERCOQ DU LESLAY, T. LEJARS, P. MÉNIEL
The remains of the settlement were found over the whole of sector B and the southern part of sector C. In the highest part of the site (zone B), erosion meant that only the deepest structures were preserved and dug (ditches, fences, silos). These represent the systems of enclosure which allow us to understand the spatial and chronological evolution of the site. The earliest phase of the site (La Tène C1) is represented by an enclosure of 3 ha (n° 337-8-29), defined by a ditch 3 m deep. The following phase (from the end of La Tène C1 to the start of La Tène C2) is marked by a reorganisation of the ditch system: an impressive palisade is installed in the ditch, a complex entrance (perhaps a «Zangentor »type) is created by the ditches 6 and 339. The last phase (La Tène C2 / D1) corresponds with the enclosure 26-30 and the ditch XX (observed only on aerial photographs). The settlement occupies some 13 ha during this phase.
The buildings must have been relatively Frequent if one considers the quantity of culinary remains, building material and industrial refuse which clutters the ditch fills. Erosion has nevertheless left few traces of these structures. There were two types of constructions: timber-framed buildings resting on sill-beams and small structures composed of four earth-fast posts, usually interpreted as granaries. These only ever leave the plan of the four posts. Three examples of the first category survived on the S.-E. slope of the site, the best preserved. They consist of spacious houses (notably the n° 50), partially dug into the ground, which delivered a rich range of objects. They would seem to be the houses of well-off people. Grain silos figure among the other features of the site, but two large, cylindrical pits (nos12 and 25) stand out from the rest. Of a type never before encountered in the North of France, their function remains uncertain: cistern, «icehouse » or oubliette? Traces of craft and industrial activities are omnipresent on the site. They are particularly abundant to the south of the enclosure n° 56 where important metal working installations must have been situated (smelting and forging).
A great quantity of finds was recovered from around the dwellings. Consisting essentially of pottery and animal bones, a certain number of objects, unusual on .other settlement sites, are well represented at the religious centre of Montmartin: brooches, dress items, weapons. The absence of coins is logical: the site was abandoned during the 100's B.C. whereas the usual coins (potins) only came into use during the 90's B.C. The pottery offers a corpus of over 500 forms, the richest in the North of France for this period. In this catalogue, which includes luxury and domestic wares, wheel-turned forms appear from the La Tène C2 whilst imported pottery from the centre of France (painted wares) and from the west Are also present, along with republican period amphorae. The metal-work (tools, fragments of weaponry and various fixtures and fittings) is, like the pottery, diversified, and reveals a high standard of living of the occupants of the site. This impression is confirmed by the animal remains which, with a great diversity of meat producing species, are totally different from those usually encountered on «indigenous» settlements. The most important discovery is that of the presence of large horses, from the 2nd century B.C. onwards, which could only have been imported, probably from Italy.
3 The enclosure n° 56
B. BOULESQUIN, J.-L. BRUNAUX, H. DUDAY, G. FERCOQ DU LESLAY, T. LEJARS, P. MÉNIEL
The most remarkable structure of the site is the enclosure n° 56, situated at the river confluence. Two sides are defined by two ditches over 2 m deep whilst the other two are formed by the steep sides of the valleys. The surface area is a little under 1 ha. The only structure inside this otherwise empty space was the complex n° 57-99. Given the excellent state of conservation, it would seem that the enclosure had never contained any other structure and served, therefore, as a closed space. The ditch (n° 56) contained a very rich material which indicates its function and development. It underwent the same chronological evolution as the rest of the site. Early on, this ditch served as the location of a monumental wall, rebuilt on several occasions.
The ditch-fills contained animal remains of a very different nature from those found on the rest of the site, along with exceptional human remains. These were essentially composed of fragments of skulls with very marked traces of butchery. These remains, associated with numerous weapons, leave no doubt as to the ritual nature of this structure.
This impression is confirmed by the fact that the enclosure is the exact copy, albeit on a smaller scale, of the central structure of the sanctuary of Gournay. It presents two cylindrical pits, side by side, surrounded by post-holes. The stratigraphical and spatial analyses allow us to distinguish five phases of utilisation which go from the simple sunken altar to the small temple, via an archaic form of covered altar. This is, by and large, the architectural evolution of the temple at Gournay.
4 Interpretation
B. BOULESQUIN, J.-L. BRUNAUX, H. DUDAY, T. LEJARS, P. MÉNIEL
The animal remains discovered on the site show that the occupants practised more diversified and higher quality livestock rearing than that of other known agricultural sites. A part of the population must have been entirely occupied by craft activities which went beyond those of a purely rural economy. Iron working was very developed and the production process started with the smelting of ore. Overall, the material remains reveal a very high standard of living, also confirmed by the traces of religious activity on the site.
The enclosure n° 56 should be interpreted as having a dual function: a public meeting place on one hand, religious on the other. The small temple, situated on the highest point of the site and away from the centre, allowed ritual activities to be carried out, as witnessed by the animal remains. It gave, above all else, a divine authority to these assemblies of which the aristocratic and political natures are betrayed by the presence of weapons and of human skulls. These were originally hung from the walls of the enclosure.
The complex n° 57-99 shows a nearly linear evolution during nearly two centuries. It allows us to better understand the nature and evolution of the ritual lay-out of which the only other source of comparison was the site of Gournay.
The association of archaeological material and these structures allows very precise dating. The settlement was organised at the same time as that of Gournay, ie, from the end of the La Tène B2 period onwards. Its destruction, probably total and violent, happened at the end of the first half of the La Tène D1, around the year 100 B.C. This may be related to the invasion of the Cimbrians and the Teutons or, more precisely, to their return in 103 B.C. Titus-Livius recounts that the two prongs of this invasion met up on the territory of the Veliocassii, that is to say near Montmartin. The nature of the fire which destroyed the wall of the enclosure n° 56 indicates a deliberate act, maintained by a human presence, possibly during several days.
5 Synthesis
J.-L. BRUNAUX
This section is consecrated to the study of several questions concerning archaeology and general history to which the site of Montmartin offers some answers. First of all, we should reconsider the real nature of the so-called indigenous settlements. It is necessary to make a distinction between the types of «smallholdings» and the villae. The former are the most common. Occupied by clients, they are characterised by a fairly low standard of material wealth whilst the latter are rather more akin to \, the residences of land-owners. The site of the « Fosse Muette» appears to belong to this category. The question of land ownership leads on to the more general question of the type of economy and society which prevailed in northern Gaul during the La Tène period. The answers to these questions call upon general archaeological data as well as historical sources, notably those of Julius Caesar. An appraisal of all of these elements allows us to paint a picture of the land settlement of Belgium, the central territory of the Belgae, before the Roman Conquest.
The originality of the religious elements encountered at Montmartin oblige us to reconsider our knowledge of the architectural dispositions and of the religious rites. The ritual structures at Montmartin allow us to define a new type of site which differs from the sanctuary and seems to be particular to this kind of settlement. However, it is the dual nature of this enclosed place which seems to be the most fruitful discovery. We can see in its ritual and public character a political installation of a type hitherto unknown in Gaul. This should open the way to similar discoveries. Probably a political and military meeting place, it was only open to the equites described by Caesar, the class of patricians who could be members of the Senate.
The small size of the settlement at Montmartin meant that it could hardly contain more than a hundred or so people. This, and the other factors already mentioned during the course of this study (the material wealth, the diversity of the farming and craft activities and the presence of weapons and other status symbols) allow us to advance the hypothesis of an aristocratic domain. The centre of this domain is thû settlement of «La Fosse Muette», containing the homes of the patricians, those of their clients and slaves, agricultural and industrial buildings as well as a space reserved for the political and religious activities.
The archaeological data, put against the relatively numerous historical sources, sketch out the history of this aristocratic residence within its regional context.
