Mur d’Hannibal: Difference between revisions

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== Commentary ==
== Commentary ==
The site conventionally called Mur d'Hannibal (not connected to Hannibal in any way) is situated at 2650 m a.s.l. on a ridge on the eastern side of the Val d'Entremont, overlooking a large section of the valley which connects the Great St. Bernard pass to Martigny, and controlling the only passable high-altitude path on its eastern flank. It was excavated between 2006 and 2010, and again between 2014 and 2016. The site was occupied during the late La Tène and Roman periods (based on C14 datings), but possibly only for a short time. Its main feature is a bracket-shaped defensive dry stone wall of ca. 270 m length and up to 2.1 m height which, with a scarp face as fourth side, encloses a space of 3500 m² in which almost forty structures were identified; about fifty more structures are situated outside and above the wall. Among the sparse finds are a stone gaming board and Roman cleats, datable to the second half of the 1<sup>st</sup> century BC or early 1<sup>st</sup> century AD. The site appears to have functioned as a control and observation point and possibly refuge for the inhabitants of the valley; it is not clear whether it was originally an indigeneous fortification which changed hands from the local Veragri to the Romans at some point in the second half of the 1<sup>st</sup> century BC in the course of the Roman conquest of the valley, without violent conflict at the site, or whether the non-Roman finds merely indicate indigeneous auxiliaries in the Roman army. See {{bib|Andenmatten & Paccolat 2012}} (with numerous maps and illustrations) on the first excavation campaign, and {{bib|Aberson et al. 2021}}: 310 f. with literature for results of the excavations after 2012.
The site conventionally called Mur d'Hannibal (not connected to Hannibal in any way) is situated at 2643 m a.s.l. on a ridge on the eastern side of the Val d'Entremont, overlooking a large section of the valley which connects the Great St. Bernard pass to the Rhône valley, and controlling the only passable high-altitude path on its eastern flank. It was occupied during the late La Tène and early Roman periods (ca. 70–15 BC). Its main feature is a bracket-shaped defensive dry stone wall of ca. 270 m length and up to 2.1 m height which, with a scarp face as fourth side, encloses a space of 3500 m² in which almost forty structures were identified; about fifty more structures are situated outside and above the wall. The site appears to have functioned as a control and observation point; since finds include both La Tène material and objects associated with the Roman military, it is assumed that it was occupied by Gaulish auxiliaries in the Roman army in the course of the Roman conquest of the valley, though it cannot be excluded that it was originally an indigenous site. Excavations were conducted between 2006 and 2010, and again between 2014 and 2016; see {{bib|Andenmatten & Paccolat 2012}} on the first excavation campaign, and {{bib|Aberson et al. 2021}} with literature for results of the excavations after 2012 and the historical context of the site.
<p style="text-align:right;>[[User:Corinna Salomon|Corinna Salomon]]</p>
<p style="text-align:right;>[[User:Corinna Salomon|Corinna Salomon]]</p>
{{bibliography}}
{{bibliography}}

Revision as of 19:54, 2 July 2023

Field name
Site: Liddes [from first object]
Coordinates: 45° 59' 6.54" N, 7° 13' 59.09" E [from first object]
Objects found here:

Map

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Commentary

The site conventionally called Mur d'Hannibal (not connected to Hannibal in any way) is situated at 2643 m a.s.l. on a ridge on the eastern side of the Val d'Entremont, overlooking a large section of the valley which connects the Great St. Bernard pass to the Rhône valley, and controlling the only passable high-altitude path on its eastern flank. It was occupied during the late La Tène and early Roman periods (ca. 70–15 BC). Its main feature is a bracket-shaped defensive dry stone wall of ca. 270 m length and up to 2.1 m height which, with a scarp face as fourth side, encloses a space of 3500 m² in which almost forty structures were identified; about fifty more structures are situated outside and above the wall. The site appears to have functioned as a control and observation point; since finds include both La Tène material and objects associated with the Roman military, it is assumed that it was occupied by Gaulish auxiliaries in the Roman army in the course of the Roman conquest of the valley, though it cannot be excluded that it was originally an indigenous site. Excavations were conducted between 2006 and 2010, and again between 2014 and 2016; see Andenmatten & Paccolat 2012 on the first excavation campaign, and Aberson et al. 2021 with literature for results of the excavations after 2012 and the historical context of the site.

Corinna Salomon

Bibliography

Aberson et al. 2021 Michel Aberson, Romain Andenmatten, Stefania Casini, Angelo E. Fossati, Rudolf Wachter, "Entre Celtes et Romains : la dédicace à Poeninos du Mur (dit) d'Hannibal", in: María José Estarán Tolosa, Emmanuel Dupraz, Michel Aberson (eds), Des mots pour les dieux. Dédicaces cultuelles dans les langues indigènes de la méditerranée occidentale, Berne: Peter Lang 2021, 309–332.
Andenmatten & Paccolat 2012 Romain Andenmatten, Olivier Paccolat, "Le mur (dit) d'Hannibal: une site de haute montagne de la fin de l'âge de Fer. Avec les contributions d'Olivier Mermod, Angela Schlumbaum et Jacqueline Studer", Jahrbuch Archäologie Schweiz 95 (2012), 77-95.
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