Becoming Roman in southern Burgundy: A field survey between Autun and Bibracte in the Arroux Valley (Saône-et-Loire), 2000-2003

Oppida, Agglomerations, and Suburbia: the Bibracte Environs and New Perspectives on Late Iron Age Urbanism in Central-Eastern France

“…One of the key reasons for this was that the landscape is notoriously difficult for conducting landscape survey; dominated by woodland and pasture, fieldwalking opportunities are limited. Added to this, the local geology is unresponsive to geophysical survey (Creighton et al, 2008). Despite these problems, building on earlier limited survey work (Crumley & Marquardt 1987;Buchsenschutz & Richard, 1996), field survey in the Arroux valley between 2000 and 2003 demonstrated that surface survey and geophysics can identify Late La Tène and Gallo-Roman sites, providing an appreciation of their form and function (Creighton et al, 2008).…”

“…Added to this, the local geology is unresponsive to geophysical survey (Creighton et al, 2008). Despite these problems, building on earlier limited survey work (Crumley & Marquardt 1987;Buchsenschutz & Richard, 1996), field survey in the Arroux valley between 2000 and 2003 demonstrated that surface survey and geophysics can identify Late La Tène and Gallo-Roman sites, providing an appreciation of their form and function (Creighton et al, 2008). The valley survey was relatively successful in elucidating an improved picture of settlement patterns between Bibracte and Autun (Augustodunum).…”

“…In the early Roman Empire, site numbers rose noticeably, only to fall back again in late Antiquity. However, this survey was down in the valley basin; apart from some small-scale investigations at nearby sites, such as Poil (Creighton et al, 2008;, little was known of the immediate environs of the oppidum. In order to rectify this, a team from the Johannes Gutenberg University and Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum, Mainz undertook a systematic survey of the immediate environs of the oppidum, working out from an area of known activity at Sources de l'Yonne where Romano-Celtic shrines had previously been recognized.…”

“…There is growing evidence that the environs of Bibracte saw a similarly turbulent time. Although the nature of settlement in the Bibracte environs remains relatively poorly understood, recent survey work indicates that sites of La Tène C and D1 are rare (Creighton et al, 2008;Barral & Nouvel, 2012: 155), but that a more widespread expansion of settlement may have taken place in La Tène D2 (Figure 7). Whilst the data are problematic, there are hints from eastern France and from the vicinity of Bibracte that there was a major reorganization of settlement in La Tène D2, possibly coeval with SDY's development, which was then followed by its, and Bibracte's, heyday.…”