Interpretive illustration of a typical Hypogeum (rock-cut)

Hypogeum (rock-cut)

grotte de la Source

Also known ashypogée de la Source

France

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Overview

About this site

Overview

Grotte de la Source is a hypogeum in Fontvieille, France. It is also known as hypogée de la Source. It lies at 43.7106° N, 4.6837° E.

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grotte de la Source

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Context

Sources for this section

A hypogeum is literally an "underground" temple or tomb, often with niches for cremated remains or loculi for burials. In the Neolithic and Copper Age of western Europe, the same communities built megalithic tombs above ground and dug chambers below it; this article covers the underground examples and the sites where the two meet.

In Andalusia, the Copper Age site of Los Millares near Almería was in use from about 3025 to 2000 BCE and probably supported around 1,000 people. It was discovered in 1891 during the construction of a railway and first excavated by Luis Siret. It is the type site of the Millaran culture. Three concentric lines of stone walls surround the site, the outer ring running more than 200 metres with 19 bastions, and there is an extensive cemetery of eighty passage grave tombs; radiocarbon dating shows that one wall collapsed and was rebuilt about 3025 BCE. The regional background, “Neolithic and Copper Age hypogea of western Europe”, is given below.

Dating

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