L'attelage dans l'Antiquité. Le prestige d'une erreur scientifique

Résumé En

Harness in Antiquity: The Prestige of Scientific Error. The work of Commander Lefebvre des Noettes and particular his hypothesis of the defectiveness of ancient harnesses, was very influential even though his analysis was technically false. After having situated the commander- a local erudite who took advantage of his early retirement to specialize in an area that had been little explored up until that time- in historical context, this article takes up the refutations that began in 1960 and became especially forceful due to the work of J.Spruytte in 1977. There was not one, but rather several ancient harnesses and the evolution towards modern techniques (shafts, collars, and breast harnesses) began in Antiquity.The commander's theories were accepted for so long and their refutation so little recognized in France because they reinforced the idea of "antiquity's technical block". The paper investi gates the birth of this concept and the reasons why it encountered so much success in France. The evolution of different historical schools giving special place to ancient history allows us to better understand why people pondered the causes of "technical block" without throwing the concept itself into question. It is as if ancient history had to have particular status and could not be considered part of the long procession of history.