Editing Roquepertuse (section)

==Excavations==
[[File:Seated warrior 8270 from Roquepertuse - front (Marseille, Mus d'arch med).jpg|thumb|upright=.8|Seated warrior from Roquepertuse]]
[[File:Two-headed 'herm' 6017 from Roquepertuse (Marseille, Mus d'arch med).jpg|thumb|Three-headed sculpture from Roquepertuse]]

The accidental discovery of the first sculptures in the 19th century<ref>
{{cite book
|author1=Fabienne Gateau 
|author2=Frédéric Trément 
|author3=Florence Verdin 
|title=L'Étang-de-Berre 
|location=Paris 
|publisher=Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres |work=Carte archéologique de la Gaule 
|number=13/1 
|year=1996 
|pages=379  
|isbn=978-2-87754-041-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tNkTWc3ujvgC}}</ref> triggered the first excavation of the site by Count {{ILL|Henry de Gérin-Ricard|fr}}. A series of excavations then took place over the next ten years, from 1917 to 1927, and brought to light structures identified as a sanctuary attributed to the Celto-[[Ligures]], initially dated to just before the Roman conquest.

Officially, the relics have now been dated to the 3rd century BC, based on [[Celt]]ic expansion into the area at the time. However, the clothing and gestures of certain statues found at the site suggest that they date from the 5th or 6th century BC. These statues are distinguished by their cross-legged seated position.

A platform of 50 m by 22 m paved with flat stones including a couple of reused headstones, was discovered, divided in the middle by a staircase made of large blocks of stone. Stone walls to the left and to the right of the stairs formed a terrace, probably one of several which the complex originally had.

On the platform was what has variously been called a portal, door frame, and portico with pillars, carved of limestone. Its columns have cavities in which human stone masks, and human skulls, had been placed. Its lintel was carved with the heads of four horses, and additional decoration in paint. At the top of the lintel was a limestone statue of a bird of 60&nbsp;cm by 60&nbsp;cm which has been called a goose, but is now thought more likely to depict a raptor.

A two-faced androgynous sculpture of limestone (0.2 m high and 30&nbsp;cm long) was also found, as well as two statues of  figure sitting cross-legged(0.62 m high).

The first interpretation of archaeologists was that this was a secluded sanctuary. The latest findings from various multidisciplinary studies{{what|date=July 2023}} suggest that it was an agglomeration of about 0.5 hectares with a sanctuary to the north, as well as a [[bastion|bulwark]] for protection.

The site is important in part because it provides evidence for the [[Celtic head cult]] described in Greek and Roman accounts.

The site is near another Celtic-Roman site at [[Entremont (oppidum)|Entremont]], which had similar relief sculpture of severed human and horse heads, as well as skull niches carved into pillars. Nearby archaeological sites include several [[oppidum|oppida]] from approximately the same period. Roquepertuse was declared a [[monument historique]], or protected historical site, in 1967.<ref>{{Base Mérimée|PA00081491|Site archéologique de Roquepertuse}}</ref>

Roquepertuse had no domicile available for worshippers and has been used as a sanctuary where only priests may have lived permanently.{{cn|date=July 2023}}