Oppidum de Saint-Blaise

Oppidum de Saint-Blaise is an archaeological site located on a rocky plateau between two lakes in southeastern France. The grounds spread across several hillsides with foundations of houses, defensive walls, and protected areas from different time periods.

The site began as an Etruscan trading post in the 7th century BCE when merchants harvested salt and competed with Marseille. Afterward, Celtic and Ligurian peoples settled here, then Romans, and finally Christians built a chapel at this location.

The site takes its name from Saint Blaise and draws visitors interested in seeing the layers of different populations that inhabited this location. Walking around, one can notice traces of various periods in the stone structures.

Visitors should wear comfortable shoes since the grounds are uneven and some paths climb steeply. The best time to explore is in early morning or late afternoon when it is cooler.

Multiple defensive walls stack on top of each other like layered sheets because each generation built walls over the previous ones. This shows how people repeatedly fortified the same hilltop across thousands of years.