Oppidum des Châteliers

The Châteliers oppidum (or Châtelliers) is a French archaeological site located in Amboise, in the Indre-et-Loire department, in the Centre-Val de Loire region. The site is strategically situated on a limestone spur approximately 50 meters above the confluence of the Loire and one of its tributaries, the Amasse. It overlooks the modern city of Amboise, with the medieval Amboise castle situated at its end. Following the initial indications of human activity during the Paleolithic era, the Châteliers plateau was continuously inhabited from the Neolithic to the 4th century. Spanning over 50 hectares at its peak, this oppidum is possibly, under the name Ambacia, the main town and "capital" of the Turones, a Gallic tribe, in the late Iron Age. It is, without question, the largest known oppidum in Indre-et-Loire and one of the twenty largest in France. It features a religious and community center, artisanal workshops, and residential areas organized according to an urban plan that archaeologists are only beginning to understand. The César mound, believed to be a Bronze or early Iron Age funerary tumulus, is situated at the center of the site, although its precise function and date of construction remain poorly understood. The oppidum is circumscribed to the east by an imposing earthen rampart, measuring approximately 800 meters in length, which forms a defensive structure known as a

Archaeological site data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).