Un édifice circulaire monumental du Néolithique moyen sur le plateau de Corent (Puy-de-Dôme, France) et son contexte archéologique

The aim of this paper is to present the preliminary results relating to the Neolithic occupation unearthed during the excavations carried out in 2018 on the Corent Plateau and to replace this discovery in its archaeological context. The archaeological significance of the Corent plateau is known since the 19th century with abundant remains dating from the Neolithic to the Roman period. Neolithic artefacts such as stone axes or flint tools were found during early surveys, but the first important remains, a collective burial containing at least 44 bodies and pottery vessels dating to the Late Neolithic, was discovered in 1969 in the stone quarry on the south slope of the plateau. Neolithic artefacts and part of three parallel palisades were also found in 1992 and 1993 when V. Guichard carried out test trenching in the late Iron Age sanctuary on the lower part of the Corent plateau. During M. Poux’s excavations from 2001 on the Iron Age sanctuary, Neolithic artefacts and other sections of these palisades were uncovered and excavations in 2017, revealed their SE-NW orientation. From 2001 to 2016, P.-Y. Milcent and M. Poux excavated Bronze Age and Iron Age settlements over nearly 3 hectares, Neolithic features and artefacts were also discovered. Following on from this, a new research program was set up in 2018 to excavate a circular enclosure previously detected by aerial survey and located 140 meters north of the Iron Age sanctuary. The enclosure was initially thought to be the demarcation ditch of a large Bronze Age or Early Iron Age burial ; however the subsequent excavation of its north-east quarter revealed a large circular feature 20 meters in diameter (227m2 of internal surface area) dating to the Middle Neolithic. The feature is enclosed by a peripheral ditch 1.10 to 1,30 m wide and 0.70 m deep, dug into the basalt. Massive basalt blocks in the ditch mark probable postholes spaced between 1.40 and 2 m apart. The ditch also has an entrance to the east. Two slit trenches divide the enclosed area into two unequal parts (1/ 3 and 2/ 3 of the area) and form a second entrance on the eastern side aligned with the first. Large posts maintained by massive blocks (up to 0.80 m wide) and supporting a wooden structure probably stood in the enlarged cuts at the ends of the slit trenches on either side of the entrance. Little is known of what this building was used for as the archaeological levels above the bedrock were completely destroyed by modern ploughing. Pottery sherds and flints dating to the Chasséen Middle Neolithic were discovered in the top of the fill. The Corent building constitutes a rare discovery for the area, as the few Neolithic buildings found in Auvergne do not have this type of plan. It belongs to a very particular group of circular buildings well known in Northern France called the Auneau type, mainly found in the Paris Basin and its western margins. The building at Corent is the most southerly example known of this type. Auneau type circular buildings of are interpreted as dwellings, but their size and their monumentality could suggest other functions such as collective activities. In terms of floor space, Corent’s circular building is the second largest known. Moreover, it is not the only Neolithic feature found on the Plateau. In addition to erratic artefacts and some features, the several sections of a triple-palisade enclosure of non-jointed posts dating to the Middle Neolithic period have been uncovered during various campaigns since 1993. It seems likely that the building and the triple palisade are part of the same ensemble, as a similar organisation exists at Le Goulet in the Orne, where two large circular buildings were built inside a large fenced enclosure with many interruptions. Even though many Middle Neolithic sites have been found in Basse-Auvergne thanks to preventive archaeology, the large building and palisade at Corent are unusual. Corent constitutes an important site during the Bronze Age with its metal hoards and dense settlement and at the end of the Iron Age where political and religious activities took place. Its importance seems in part due to its topographic location and the proximity of fertile soils and trade routes and the plateau of Corent may have played a similar role in territorial organisation during the Middle Neolithic. These discoveries testify to its particular status during the Middle Neolithic in Basse-Auvergne.
À partir des résultats obtenus lors de la fouille partielle d’un édifice monumental durant la campagne programmée menée en 2018 sur le plateau de Corent, cet article propose de faire le point sur les bâtiments circulaires néolithiques de type Auneau et l’état des connaissances relatif aux occupations du plateau durant le Néolithique. Corent est connu depuis le XIXe siècle pour ses nombreux vestiges datant du Néolithique à l’époque romaine. Depuis 2001, des fouilles programmées ont permis d’étudier des vestiges archéologiques sur près de 3 ha. Une fenêtre de fouille a été ouverte dans le quart nord-est d’une tranchée circulaire repérée en prospection aérienne. Cette anomalie avait été interprétée dans un premier temps comme les vestiges d’un monument funéraire protohistorique. La fouille a rendu caduque cette hypothèse et permis de reconnaître un édifice circulaire monumental de 20 m de diamètre, rattachable au type d’Auneau, et bâti sur des poteaux disjoints installés dans des tranchées de fondation ; une tranchée de refend décentrée et à interruption centrale divise l’intérieur du cercle en deux parties inégales. Une datation radiocarbone sur charbon (4336 -4076 cal BC) et le mobilier permettent d’attribuer l’édifice au Chasséen ancien méridional. Cette découverte sur le plateau de Corent est remarquable pour la région car les rares bâtiments néolithiques fouillés en Auvergne jusqu’à présent ne présentent pas ce type de plan. Elle n’est pas isolée puisqu’un cliché aérien révèle un autre édifice circulaire de type Auneau aux Martres-de-Veyre, en contrebas du plateau de Corent, au bord de l’Allier, peut-être dans une enceinte. Pour des exemples fouillés, il faut chercher des éléments de comparaison (une trentaine de bâtiments connus) dans la moitié nord de la France – Bassin parisien et ses marges occidentales – mais les édifices de Corent et des Martres-de-Veyre étendent désormais nettement vers le sud cette distribution. Par ailleurs, l’édifice de Corent n’est pas isolé sur le plateau. Outre du mobilier erratique et quelques structures du Néolithique moyen et final, les tronçons d’une enceinte à triple palissade de poteaux non jointifs ont été mis au jour à plusieurs reprises. Ces découvertes témoignent du statut particulier qu’avait le site de Corent au Néolithique moyen et de la complexité des habitats et des modalités d’occupation territoriale des sociétés de cette époque en basse Auvergne. Plus largement, elle révèle une fois de plus la situation charnière de cette région d’un point de vue culturel.
Couderc Florian, Milcent Pierre-Yves, Vallée Manon, Pasty Jean-François, Dousteyssier Bertrand, Mader Sylvain, Meiraud Antoine, Surmely Fréderic, Poux Matthieu, Alix Philippe. Un édifice circulaire monumental du Néolithique moyen sur le plateau de Corent (Puy-de-Dôme, France) et son contexte archéologique. In: Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française, tome 117, n°2, 2020. pp. 233-271.