3 juin 2021
info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess
Pierre Péfau et al., « Timber framing architecture (pan de bois) in Gaul during the late Iron Age: recent research on a little-known architectural tradition », HAL-SHS : archéologie, ID : 10670/1.ghcnnd
The study of protohistoric wooden architecture in Gaul has gained fresh impetus in recent decades, supported by a growing number of preventative and programmed archaeological projects and new academic studies. While posthole constructions have been the subject of analysis since the 1980s, they are often viewed as the major, if not the only, expression of Gallic architecture of the Late Iron Age. Timber-framed architecture (pan de bois), which is more difficult to identify in archaeological field studies, has generally been considered as a marginal or even late tradition derived from Roman buildings, and only spread to Gaul after Caesar’s conquest. However, recent studies show that timber-framed architecture is indeed an essential, though still largely unknown, element of Gallic building tradition. In this article we will review the current state of knowledge of this construction technique. First, we will discuss how we can approach the study of these buildings which are most often discovered during excavations and therefore in a precarious state of conservation. Because they are poorly rooted in the ground, unlike the more well-known posthole structures of the period, these structures are mostly identified in archaeological records only in the form of shallow wall impressions, the burned remains of framed-elevations or destruction levels that must be analysed through a process combining deduction, technical considerations and comparison. The description of some examples found in different settlements and oppida from the 3rd to the 1st century BC, representatives of the corpus gathered in two recently completed doctoral studies, will enable us not only to delineate the technical aspects, but also to address the socio-economic dimension related to the spread of this type of architecture, particularly well adapted to densely populated protohistoric urban sites.