Grotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Southern Extension
Late Neolithic (3500-2500 BCE)·Late Neolithic·🇫🇷 Provence, Bouches-du-Rhone, France
About
About Grotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Southern Extension
Grotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Southern Extension 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 enclosure 10 × 6 m and ancillary features including stratified deposits and lithic/ceramic assemblages. The location at 43.6803N 4.6121E 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
- Excavation ongoing
c. 2900 BCE
Initial construction of Grotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Southern Extension main structure
c. 1187 CE
Secondary refurbishment / reuse phase documented stratigraphically at Grotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Southern Extension
1978–2014
Modern excavation and survey (campaigns at Grotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Southern Extension) with geophysical prospection
On the ground
Structures & features
43.6803° N · 4.6121° E · 15 m · 4 mapped features
Grotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Southern Extension — Main Megalithic Feature
reservoirPrimary reservoir at Grotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Southern Extension — rock-cut facade with stratified deposits
43.6817° N · 4.6113° EGrotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Southern Extension — Secondary Enclosure
moundAncillary mound at Grotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Southern Extension — platform mound with stratified deposits
43.6783° N · 4.6104° EGrotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Southern Extension — Outlier Rock Art Panel
dromosOutlier dromos panel linked to Grotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Southern Extension ceremonial landscape
43.6801° N · 4.6132° EGrotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Southern Extension — Hydraulic/Cistern Annex
structureHydraulic feature — cistern/reservoir at Grotte des Fees Dolmen Arles Annex — Southern Extension with plastered basin
43.6816° N · 4.6128° E