Une aire de chasse plurimillénaire à Bétheny, le Champs de manœuvre (Marne)

Résumé En

Preventive archaeological excavations at the ’Champ de Manœuvre’ site in Bétheny have uncovered a series of deep, narrowpits organized around an ancient pond. These pits, some of which contain faunal remains or negatives of wooden stakes, were proba-bly used as hunting traps. Dates cover a long chronological interval between the late Mesolithic and the Hallstatt periods. The studiesreveal that the paleomare, which was probably active as early as the Mesolithic period, was a magnet for wild animals and, indirectly,for hunters. During the Neolithic period, in an open, sparsely wooded environment, water levels tended to fluctuate. This was followedby a gradual drying out and the establishment of a secondary forest during the Bronze Age. The pond was not completely drained andlevelled until the Iron Age, which explains the astonishing functional continuity of this site over time.