Grotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Eastern Outlier
Late Neolithic (3500-2500 BCE)·Late Neolithic·🇫🇷 Provence, Bouches-du-Rhone, France
About
About Grotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Eastern Outlier
Grotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Eastern Outlier 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 chamber 10 × 3 m and ancillary features including stratified deposits and lithic/ceramic assemblages. The location at 43.6710N 4.6168E 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
- 01Scale of population vs agricultural catchment
- 02Ritual vs domestic use
Theories
- 01Ceremonial centre for dispersed community
- 02Territorial marker controlling resources
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
- Excavation ongoing
c. 2900 BCE
Initial construction of Grotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Eastern Outlier main structure
c. 1453 BCE
Secondary refurbishment / reuse phase documented stratigraphically at Grotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Eastern Outlier
1973–2022
Modern excavation and survey (campaigns at Grotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Eastern Outlier) with geophysical prospection
On the ground
Structures & features
43.6710° N · 4.6168° E · 24 m · 3 mapped features
Grotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Eastern Outlier — Main Megalithic Feature
moundPrimary mound at Grotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Eastern Outlier — platform mound with stratified deposits
43.6718° N · 4.6188° EGrotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Eastern Outlier — Secondary Enclosure
dromosAncillary dromos at Grotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Eastern Outlier — platform mound with stratified deposits
43.6695° N · 4.6159° EGrotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Eastern Outlier — Outlier Rock Art Panel
structureOutlier structure panel linked to Grotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Eastern Outlier ceremonial landscape
43.6717° N · 4.6155° E