Musée Archéologique du Pègue, Oppidum and classified historic monument in Le Pègue, France

The oppidum Saint-Marcel occupies three levels of a steep hillside above Le Pègue, its pale cream and tan rock streaked with reddish orange and brown and dotted with shrubs. Excavations there uncovered black-figure and red-figure Greek pottery, locally made pseudo-Ionian wares and Gaulish pottery, plus the floors of large grain silos. A reassembled bowl of the recent type, dated 500–450 BCE, is displayed on a red label.

The settlement began around 525 BCE and maintained early trade contacts with Massalia through imports of Greek black-figure pottery. Later came a shift toward Italian-Greek wine containers, reflecting changes in trading routes.

Locally made pseudo-Ionian pottery, found alongside Greek black-figure and later red-figure wares, shows that drinking Greek wine had become an everyday habit here. The Celts valued wine so highly that they traded a slave for a single amphora, and Gaulish pottery appears mixed with the imported pieces.

The oppidum occupies three levels of the Saint-Marcel hill above Le Pègue, so allow time for walking between them. The ground is uneven and the slope steep; sturdy shoes help. The site is a classified monument, and the excavated pottery is kept in the Musée Archéologique du Pègue in the village rather than on the hill.

A striking gap of six generations in the findings shows that Phocaean goods briefly stopped arriving. This absence of Greek imports points to a break in established trade ties that was only rebuilt later.