Circaete Jean le Blanc at the Oppidum of Ensérune in Nissan

The archaeological site ofOppidum d'Ensérune presents visitors with the remains of the ancient hill-top village (which earned it the name of Oppidum). The site overlooks the town of Nissan-lez-Enserune on one side, and thedry swamp of Montady on the other, and was occupied between the sixth century BC (Iron Age) and the first century AD. Its location offers a unique panoramic view, between the Cévennes and the Pyrenees, the Languedoc plain and all the way to the coast.

An oppidum is a type of protohistoric fortified settlement found in western and central Europe. The fortified settlement of Ensérune is one of the biggest pre-Roman archaeological sites in the south of France.

Apart from the oppidum with sections of Cyclopean walls and silos dug in the ground on the southern flank, there are also ruins of Roman villas here, as well as an exceptional necropolis of some 500 cremation tombs, accompanied by very lavish furniture from the second Iron Age of the fifth-third centuries BC. This bears witness to the daily life of the people living here, including a number of warriors of great wealth, craftsmanship, but also of a trade which was significant at the time between the indigenous societies and the Mediterranean traders. We can also note the presence of vases, amphorae, ceramics and jewelry that can be associated with Attic, Italic or Iberian productions.

This site is owned by the French State. It is open to visitors and managed by the Centre des Monuments Nationaux which groups together a hundred historic monuments.

The archaeological site of the Oppidum d'Ensérune and its museum, where you can discover the findings from archaeological excavations, provides a peaceful and historical experience, where you can see one of the most beautiful collections of attic vases in the South of France, the first Languedoc collection of Gallic weapons and adornments, and the findings from a century of archaeological excavations of a major Gallic agglomeration in the Mediterranean area between Agde and Béziers.

A place that you absolutely must visit!