Short Historical Dictionary on Urban Hydrology and Drainage

ENTREMONT Entremont, the capital of the Salyan military confederation, was a pre-Christian city located on a 3.5 ha oppidum in the South-East of France, 3 km North of Aix-enProvence. It was mentioned by the Greek historians Strabo (58 BC - 24 AD) and Diodorus Siculus (90-10 BC). The ruins explored by the French archaeologist Fernand Benoit since the second half of the 1940s show a clear and well structured urbanisation initiated at the beginning of the 3rd century BC (Benoit, 1968, 1969). Archaeological excavations revealed that around 130-125 BC, i.e. just before its destruction by Roman consuls in 125-124 BC, the oppidum was bordered by a large wall with defensive towers. An urbanisation masterplan is clearly visible in the ruins. Drains carefully built with quarry-stones on the bottom and on each side were located in the ground under houses (Figure 1). They collected surface runoff flowing along the streets and discharged it outside the urbanised area or in infiltration wells (Benoit, 1968, pp. 17-18; 1969, pp. 31-33). All architectural elements indicate that not only technical capabilities were necessary, but also that intentions and operational decisions implied the existence of a political authority (Goudineau, 1980, p. 146). At the same period, in the basic rural settlement of Taradeau* located approximately 100 km East of Entremont, simple drainage trenches were used to evacuate surface runoff (Goudineau, 1980, p. 145).

Figure 1 : Stormwater drain in cells 1 and 3 of block VB 1 (Benoit, 1969, p. 32).

References Benoit F. (1969). Entremont – Capitale celto-ligure des Salyens de Provence. Paris (France) : éditions Ophrys, nouvelle édition augmentée et mise à jour, 104 p. Benoit F. (1968). Résultats historiques des fouilles d’Entremont. Gallia, XXVI, 1-31.

© Jean-Luc Bertrand-Krajewski - 02/2006

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Short Historical Dictionary on Urban Hydrology and Drainage

Goudineau C. (1980). La Gaule méridionale. In G. Duby (dir.) : Histoire de la France urbaine. Tome 1 : la ville antique. Paris (France) : éditions du Seuil, pp. 143-194. ISBN 2-02005594-0.

Paris

Entremont Marseille

© Jean-Luc Bertrand-Krajewski - 02/2006

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Taradeau