Corent (Puy-de-Dôme)
The oppidum of Corent
The Corent oppidum is one of three Arvernian oppida located in the south of the greater Clermont area. The excavations carried out since 2001 have focused on the centre of the agglomeration, occupied by a vast sanctuary surrounded by residential areas.
Project leader: Matthieu Poux.
See also on line , virtual visit of the oppidum
The richness of the site, correlated with the exceptional conditions of preservation, constitute a research field whose interest has not been denied for nearly fifteen years of excavation and research.
One of the main interests of the Corent plateau lies in the chronological extent of its occupation sequence. The Puy de Corent blocks access to the Limagne plain, reduced to a narrow defile closed off to the east by the Puy Saint-Romain, thus controlling the river and land communication routes linking the Lower Auvergne to the south of France. It is naturally protected to the south and east by high cliffs created by the erosion of its slopes, which make it a naturally fortified and practically impregnable position. Finally, the existence of springs on the level of the basaltic table ensured, until the last century, a continuous supply of water which is lacking on the other plateaux of this sector of the Limagne.
Extensive excavations have been carried out since 2001 under the direction of M. Poux (ARAR - Université Lumière Lyon 2), associated since 2007 with P.-Y. Milcent (TRACES, Université Toulouse-Le Mirail) for the excavation of pre-Latin occupations (Bronze Age and Early Iron Age). Geophysical surveys in the framework of the ANR CELTECOPHYS.