Venejean
Research carried out from 1960 to 1966 proved that there were two periods of activity at the oppidum of Lombren. Of the first, which goes back to the end of the Early Iron Age, there remains nothing but some pieces of native pottery and Massaliot amphorae. During the second period, which began at the end of the 4th c. and continued into the 5th, these ceramic fragments were mixed with earth and used to level off the floors of dwellings. Almost all the finds belong to this last period of the site's occupation, which is connected with the Visigothic invasions. The inhabitants, some of them of Jewish faith, made their living from very active local crafts and a brisk trade along the Rhône valley. To the S the oppidum was protected by a limestone cliff 18 m high, and on the three other sides, by a well-preserved dry-stone rampart, reinforced by solid towers. Inside, the huts leaned against one another and were set along streets arranged at right angles. The dwellings were built on the bare rock, their dry-stone walls holding up roofs made of tiles and imbrices. Most of the dwellings were limited to a single, rectangular room. Some buildings were used as marts and workshops. The finds from the excavation are kept in the archaeological museum and storage depot at Bagnols-sur-Cèze (Gard).
BIBLIOGRAPHYJ. Charmasson, Rapports de fouilles (1961-64); id., “L'oppidum bas-rhodanien de Lombren (Gard), l'habitat paléochretien,” Cahiers Rhodaniens 9 (1962) 64-102MPI; id., “Un oppidum du Bas-Empire, Lombren à Vénéjean (Gard),” Archéologia 36 (Sept.-Oct. 1970); “Informations archéologiques,” Gallia 22 (1964) 506; 24 (1966) 481-82; 27 (1969) 412; M.-C. Valaison, Rapports de fouilles (1965-66).
J. CHARMASSON