User:Hothhog/sandbox
The Mont Lassois is a prominent escarpment outlier located in the commune of Vix near Châtillon-sur-Seine in the North of the French département of Côte-d'Or. With an altitude of roughly 100m, it overlooks the upper valley of the Seine. A 12th-century church, classified as a historical monument, is built on its top. An archaeological excavation is also in progress ; notorious archaeological finds of the Hallstatt culture were discovered.
Geography and flora
The Mont Lassois has a North-South oriented J shape. Its main piece, with a 306,4 m summit, is named Mont Saint-Marcel and its secondary piece, 280 m high and East-West oriented is called Mont Roussillon. The church of Saint-Marcel is located at the junction of these two pieces.
It is covered of copse and forest with wide grassy glades on its upper slopes, and cereal and fodder crops on its lower slopes. After being abandoned in the early 20th century, vineyards were implanted again in the 1980s. It consists of pinot noir and chardonnay dedicated to the production of crémant of the Châtillonnais.
Cetlic period
This oppidum overlooking the Seine river was settled since the Neolithic. It seemed to be controlling the antique tin trade route from Great Britain to Italy at the end of the Hallstatt1. The Palace of Vix and the fortified city surrounding it are a testimony to this period. Ruled by a female aristocracy in the 6th century BC, the local celtic population probably benefited from this location to tax passing convoys. The resulting wealth can be seen through the lavishness of its tombs built in the fashion of the chariot tomb. Among other finds, a very rich tumulus enshrining the remains of a woman, probably a queen of a priestess is a revealing element of the status of women in Celtic society. The population of the Mont Lassois seems to temporarily dwindle to the benefit of the Lingones of Vertillum from 20km away.