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The neolithic collective burial in the karstic cavity aven Ka (Tharaux-Gard)–abridged version

La sépulture collective du Néolithique final de l’aven Ka (Tharaux-Gard)
Aurore Schmitt, Aurore Bertrand, Florent Chateauneuf, Robin Furestier, Johanna Recchia-Quiniou, Émilie Blaise, Lucas Salazard, Sylvie Philibert et Mélie Le Roy
p. 7-40
Cet article est une traduction de :
La sépulture collective du Néolithique final de l’aven Ka (Tharaux-Gard) [fr]

Résumés

Les gorges de la Cèze, dans le Gard, ont livré de nombreuses cavités attestant de leur utilisation par plusieurs groupes, notamment au Néolithique et à l’âge du Bronze. Elles font l’objet d’un projet collectif de recherche depuis 2021. Parmi elles, l’aven Ka qui a été découvert par une équipe spéléologique, recélait une niche funéraire fermée par une dalle posée de chant. Bien que les restes humains et le mobilier n’aient pas fait l’objet d’un relevé spatial, leur étude a permis de dénombrer six individus, trois vases et trois pièces lithiques. Les datations radiocarbones inscrivent l’utilisation sépulcrale de la cavité dans le dernier tiers du IVe millénaire. Même si l’association entre le mobilier et les vestiges humains n’est pas certaine, la typochronologie des objets lithiques et de la céramique est compatible avec les deux dates sur os humains. Cette étude, bien que contrainte par les circonstances de la découverte, apporte toutefois de nouveaux éléments sur les cavités funéraires des gorges de la Cèze conjointement à la reprise de l’étude d’autres sites contemporains.

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Texte intégral

This publication is part of a collective research programme, which has been directed by M. Le Roy since 2021, concerning human settlement on the plateau of Méjannes-le-Clap and in the gorges of the Cèze river, which host a large number of cavities, the occupations of which are dated to the Late/Final Neolithic and the Bronze Age. More specifically, the research programme tackles issues related to the establishment of collective burials and to their typological diversity. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the data recovered from the aven Ka (Tharaux) located in the gorges of the Cèze river and places the site in its temporal and geographic context.

1The underground cavity of aven Ka opens onto the left bank of the Cèze river (fig. 1) at a height of 170 m. The presence of this cavity was revealed by the discovery of a blowhole a few centimetres wide. When it was discovered, its entrance was sealed by a massive monolithic limestone block. The access to the burial niche passes through a vertical, 4-m-deep shaft with a regular diameter, slightly less than one metre wide (fig. 3 and fig. 4). A large upright limestone slab was found leaning against the wall sealing its entrance (fig. 3).

1. Location of the gorges of the Cèze river, aven Ka (star symbol) and the sites mentioned in the text: Les Dalettes cave (1), Baptème cave (2), Orage cave (3), Quatre Lacquets cave (4), aven Janna (5).

1. Location of the gorges of the Cèze river, aven Ka (star symbol) and the sites mentioned in the text: Les Dalettes cave (1), Baptème cave (2), Orage cave (3), Quatre Lacquets cave (4), aven Janna (5).

Credit M. Le Roy.

3. Aven Ka (Tharaux), topography of the cavity (carried out by CFRA).

3. Aven Ka (Tharaux), topography of the cavity (carried out by CFRA).

Graphic reconstruction of the site at the time of its discovery, information provided by the discoverers.

Credit SCSP.

4. Photographs of the cave in its current state.

4. Photographs of the cave in its current state.

A- View of the access to the cave from the surface; B- Low-angle view of the pit; C- View of the burial niche from the pit (the small slab at the centre of the photograph indicates approximately the level of the burial deposit); D- Low-angle view of the burial niche from the current filling of the cave; E and F- View of the limestone slabs brought into the cavity and used for the closing of the burial niche (on the right, current closure of the cavity).

Credit F. Châteauneuf.

2The topography of the cavity was recorded in great detail. However, the skeletal remains were not registered in three dimensions nor by drawings or spatial plotting. Only photographs of the remains in situ were taken during the discovery.

3The study of the human remains was therefore carried out using just the “denombrement” of remains. The bone assemblage is composed of 384 pieces of which 24 could not be identified (6 % of the assemblage). The taphonomic impacts are very heterogeneous (fig. 5) and concern 60 % of the corpus. Two radiocarbon datings carried out on two left navicular bones – in order to avoid dating the same individual twice – make it possible to date the use of the cavity as a burial place to between 3330 and 2920 cal. BCE. The MNI indicates the presence of four individuals with an adult stature (table 1). The assemblage also contained 22 immature bones corresponding to at least two individuals, of which only a few are represented. The MNI based on the teeth makes it possible to assume the presence of five individuals. A lack of tooth elements is obvious and can be linked to the percolation of teeth into the underlying mass of fallen scree but also to the fact that no sieving took place at the discovery. The very heterogeneous representation percentage of the bone pieces cannot be explained by differential preservation alone. The presence of carpal bones and phalanges suggests moreover that complete bodies were introduced into the cavity. However, this cannot be ascertained for all the individuals.

5. A- Femur (no 95), completely eroded cortical bone; B- Tibia (no 96), concretions on ancient fracture; C- Tibia (no 114), ancient fracture (white arrow), crack (black arrow) and surface abrasion (grey arrow); D- Humerus (no 101), ancient fracture and dissolved cortical bone.

5. A- Femur (no 95), completely eroded cortical bone; B- Tibia (no 96), concretions on ancient fracture; C- Tibia (no 114), ancient fracture (white arrow), crack (black arrow) and surface abrasion (grey arrow); D- Humerus (no 101), ancient fracture and dissolved cortical bone.

Credit A. Schmitt.

Table 1. MNPS, NME, RP calculated for the bones of adult-sized individuals.

Élément NMPS NME PR
mandibule 0 0 0
BCF 4 4 100
clavicule 0 0 0
scapula 1 2 25
humérus 4 6 75
radius 2 3 38
ulna 1 3 38
carpe 2 8 13
métacarpe 2 18 45
phalange main 3 37 36
patella 4 4 50
fibula 2 3 50
tibia 4 5 50
fémur 3 5 50
os coxal 3 7 50
sacrum 2 2 50
rachis 2 27 28
calcanéus 4 6 75
talus 3 4 50
naviculaire 2 3 38
cuboïde 1 2 25
cunéiforme médial 2 4 50
cunéiforme inter 1 2 25
cunéiforme latéral 1 2 25
métatarse 5 24 60
phalange pied 2 20 19

Credit M. Remicourt.

4Only 279 out of a total of 360 bone pieces identified could be observed and were taken into account with regard to the palaeopathological record. Nineteen cases of bone lesions induced by pathologies were identified, which concern 18 different bone pieces (table 4). In most cases these are enthesopathies (fig. 8A). Two bone fractures were observed, one on a middle phalange of the foot and one on a frontal bone (fig. 8 B and C), as well as a hidden spina bifida (fig. 8D). The MNI based on “pathologies” of the bone collection equals 1. It is therefore possible that all these lesions belonged to just one individual. The fragmentary state of the bones presenting alterations considerably hampers the interpretation.

Table 4. Anatomical distribution of all the palaeopathological lesions recorded at aven Ka.

Localisation lésion N %
calvaria 1 5%
total crâne 1 5%
thoracique 4 21%
vert. Indet. 1 5%
total rachis 5 26%
sacrum 1 5%
coxal 1 5%
total ceinture pelvienne 2 11%
radius 1 5%
phalange main 4 21%
patella 1 5%
phalange pied 4 21%
cunéiforme médial 1 5%
TOTAL 20 100%

Credit M. Remicourt.

8. Illustration of the main lesions observed at aven Ka.

8. Illustration of the main lesions observed at aven Ka.

A- Bicipital enthesopathy of a left radius (no 100); B- Fragment of a frontal bone showing a circular depression (no 80); C- Interphalangeal ankylosis of the foot (no 153); D- Sacrum (no 91) with spina bifida (anterior and posterior view).

Credit A. Bertrand.

5An assemblage of animal bones was also recorded without any information as to their stratigraphic position, which raises the question of their connection with the human skeletal remains.

6Two radiocarbon dates indicate that the animal bones were deposited prior (3640 and 3380 BCE) to the use of the cavity as a burial place. Although it is of an earlier date and is not connected spatially, this assemblage containing 140 bone remains was described and listed in an inventory in order to advance hypotheses on the origin of these bones present inside the cavity (Salazard & Blaise 2025); see digital annex [https://nakala.fr/​10.34847/​nkl.6341m3na]). The assemblage is mainly composed of domestic species. The representation of their skeletal parts and the rare connections suggest that these remains stem from butchery actions and/or from consumption and that the cavity served as a deposit.

7The pottery remains recovered from the aven Ka are comprised of 122 items, of which 34 are diagnostic elements. These sherds belong to four vessels, three of which were complete from an archaeological perspective. These objects were probably brought intact into the cave. The vessels are small: a nearly spherical bowl decorated with a button, a larger bowl with a cordon connecting four small tabs, and a big S-shaped beaker with vertically perforated tabs, which served to suspend the vessel or to attach a lid. Except for one carinated vessel, all the pottery remains are decorated with plastic applications. Grooved decoration is not documented at the site. The typological elements of the artefacts recovered from the aven Ka are consistent with the traits that characterise pottery production at the transition from the 4th to the 3rd millennium BCE, inherited from the pottery traditions of the late Middle Neolithic: simple and S-shaped profiles, shortage of angular profiles, prevalence of plastic decorations such as cordons, progressive increase in incised decorations (Cauliez 2011b).

8The lithic artefacts are comprised of three pieces: a complete blade (fig. 12A) and two foliate projectile points, one of which is only visible on a photograph. The projectile points provide only little significant complementary information as regards the temporal and cultural contribution. However, the blade corresponds to a type present at several Final Neolithic sites in Languedoc. It is characteristic of the production of large blades made from small slabs stemming from the area of Collorgues-Aubussargues located about 30 km south of the site. The use wear analysis of this blade (fig. 13 and fig. 14) provided evidence of domestic use, notably related to the cultivation of cereals, and raises the question as to the status of the object in this funerary context.

12. A- Large blade from aven Ka (CAD: R. Furestier); B- Leaf-shaped arrowhead from aven Ka (CAD: R. Furestier); C- Aven Ka, roughly lozenge-shaped arrowhead.

12. A- Large blade from aven Ka (CAD: R. Furestier); B- Leaf-shaped arrowhead from aven Ka (CAD: R. Furestier); C- Aven Ka, roughly lozenge-shaped arrowhead.

Credit J. Coularou.

13. Aven Ka, blade with sickle gloss on the right edge indicating its use for the scraping or cutting of silica-rich plant material.

13. Aven Ka, blade with sickle gloss on the right edge indicating its use for the scraping or cutting of silica-rich plant material.

A and B- Micropolish, with fluted appearance on the cutting edge and oriented towards the lower side, magnification 100x; C- Shiny micropolish, soft and wavy on the upper face, magnification 100x.

Credit R. Furestier and S. Philibert.

14. Aven Ka, blade with sickle gloss on its left edge, used as a sickle element.

14. Aven Ka, blade with sickle gloss on its left edge, used as a sickle element.

A- Used edge with remnants of sickle gloss on the resharpened edge of the blade; B- Cereal gloss developed at the distal end of the blade, 100x; C- Blunt edge, intense gloss and D- Smooth, flat and compact micropolish, characteristic of cereal harvesting, 100x (note its low-abrasive aspect); E- Gloss at the proximal end of the blade; F- Close-up view of abrasive microwear, 200x.

Credit R. Furestier and S. Philibert

9Although the documentation associated with the burial remains in the aven Ka is very incomplete, it shares characteristics with the regional collective burials. Among the underground spaces, in most cases small rooms, recesses, niches, “fox holes” or crevices, were chosen for depositing the deceased. In addition, these cavities or portions of cavities benefit from a closing system that guarantees a closed space, which protects the bodies and their possible grave goods (Guilaine et al. 2015b, Sauzade 2021). The use of exogeneous slabs in the context of burial cavities has been observed in several cases in the area of the gorges of the Cèze river, in particular in the Quatre Lacquets cave (Saint-Privat-de-Champclos), the Les Dallettes cave (Tharaux) and the Orage cave (Saint-Privat-de-Champclos; Bordreuil & Bordreuil 2005, Châteauneuf et al. 2023; fig. 1).

10The number of buried individuals remains small. Even taking into account that the collecting of the human bones by the explorers of the site was not exhaustive, the aven Ka was not big enough to receive a significant number of corpses.

11As far as the artefacts are concerned, we have expressed reservations as to the link between the projectile points and the skeletal remains, but it is possible that the blade and the pottery vessels are linked to the burial deposit. In any case, this assumption is not invalidated by the typochronology. It is also interesting to note that at least three factors make it possible to link the pottery remains found in the hypogeum of Les Crottes I and those found in the aven Ka: their typology, their volume and the funerary context. As for the blade, it perfectly meets the standards of a production that was distributed across the entire area of Languedoc-Roussillon and its margins (Remicourt et al. 2009).

12Despite the fact that after its discovery the aven Ka was not excavated in accordance with the methods proven in archaeothanatology, this cavity yielded elements that characterise Final Neolithic collective burials. The importance of this site lies in its incorporation into a wider study of other cavities that yielded human remains within a rather small area, which enables a global view of the funerary practices and the incorporation of the graves into the landscape. The similarities identified during the analyses and the biological data collected for these individuals enable us to overcome the lack of reliable data for each site and to consider the region as a whole by documenting little by little the populations buried in the gorges of the Cèze river.

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Bibliographie

Bordreuil & Bordreuil 2005, BORDREUIL M., BORDREUIL M.-C., Recherches sur quelques rites funéraires en Languedoc au Néolithique final, in Martzluff M. (ed.), Roches ornées, roches dressées. Aux sources des arts et des mythes. Les hommes et leur terre en Pyrénées de l’est, Perpignan, Presses universitaires de Perpignan, p. 139-149.

Cauliez 2011b, Cauliez J., Restitution des aires culturelles au Néolithique final dans le sud-est de la France. Dynamiques de formation et d’évolution des styles céramiques, Gallia Préhistoire, 53, 1, p. 85‑202.

Chateauneuf et al. 2023, Châteauneuf F., Bertrand A., Hutinet K., Le Roy M., Les aménagements en cavités sépulcrales du Néolithique final au Bronze ancien dans le secteur des gorges de la Cèze (Gard), Ardèche Archéologie, 40, p. 36-43.

Guilaine et al. 2015b, Guilaine J., Vaquer J., Gandelin M., Zammit J., Humbles caveaux. Confinements karstiques, gestion des sépulcres, rythmes du temps, in Guilaine J., Vaquer J., Zammit J. (ed.), Grottes sépulcrales préhistoriques des Hautes-Corbières, Toulouse, Archives d’Écologie Préhistorique, p. 323-337.

Remicourt et al. 2009, Remicourt M., Vaquer J., Bordreuil M., Production et diffusion au Chalcolithique des lames en silex du Ludien de Collorgues (Gard), Gallia préhistoire, 51, p. 213-244.

Salazard & Blaise 2025, SALAZARD L., BLAISE É., Les restes fauniques du Néolithique final de l’aven Ka (Tharaux-Gard). Annexe documentaire numérique de Schmitt et al. 2025, La sépulture collective du Néolithique final de l’aven Ka (Tharaux-Gard), Préhistoires méditerranéennes, 13|2025, p. 7-40. [Data set].NAKALA - https://nakala.fr (Huma-Num - CNRS). https://nakala.fr/10.34847/nkl.6341m3na

Sauzade 2021, Sauzade G., Les sépultures collectives provençales dans le temps long, in Le Roy M., Recchia-Quiniou J. (eds.), Grottes et dolmens. Relation entre sépultures collectives de la fin du Néolithique dans le Sud de la France, Préhistoires Méditerranéennes, 9, 2, p. 137-163.

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Table des illustrations

Titre 1. Location of the gorges of the Cèze river, aven Ka (star symbol) and the sites mentioned in the text: Les Dalettes cave (1), Baptème cave (2), Orage cave (3), Quatre Lacquets cave (4), aven Janna (5).
Crédits Credit M. Le Roy.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/pm/docannexe/image/4757/img-1.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 592k
Titre 3. Aven Ka (Tharaux), topography of the cavity (carried out by CFRA).
Légende Graphic reconstruction of the site at the time of its discovery, information provided by the discoverers.
Crédits Credit SCSP.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/pm/docannexe/image/4757/img-2.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 1,4M
Titre 4. Photographs of the cave in its current state.
Légende A- View of the access to the cave from the surface; B- Low-angle view of the pit; C- View of the burial niche from the pit (the small slab at the centre of the photograph indicates approximately the level of the burial deposit); D- Low-angle view of the burial niche from the current filling of the cave; E and F- View of the limestone slabs brought into the cavity and used for the closing of the burial niche (on the right, current closure of the cavity).
Crédits Credit F. Châteauneuf.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/pm/docannexe/image/4757/img-3.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 2,3M
Titre 5. A- Femur (no 95), completely eroded cortical bone; B- Tibia (no 96), concretions on ancient fracture; C- Tibia (no 114), ancient fracture (white arrow), crack (black arrow) and surface abrasion (grey arrow); D- Humerus (no 101), ancient fracture and dissolved cortical bone.
Crédits Credit A. Schmitt.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/pm/docannexe/image/4757/img-4.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 1,1M
Titre 8. Illustration of the main lesions observed at aven Ka.
Légende A- Bicipital enthesopathy of a left radius (no 100); B- Fragment of a frontal bone showing a circular depression (no 80); C- Interphalangeal ankylosis of the foot (no 153); D- Sacrum (no 91) with spina bifida (anterior and posterior view).
Crédits Credit A. Bertrand.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/pm/docannexe/image/4757/img-5.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 1,5M
Titre 12. A- Large blade from aven Ka (CAD: R. Furestier); B- Leaf-shaped arrowhead from aven Ka (CAD: R. Furestier); C- Aven Ka, roughly lozenge-shaped arrowhead.
Crédits Credit J. Coularou.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/pm/docannexe/image/4757/img-6.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 407k
Titre 13. Aven Ka, blade with sickle gloss on the right edge indicating its use for the scraping or cutting of silica-rich plant material.
Légende A and B- Micropolish, with fluted appearance on the cutting edge and oriented towards the lower side, magnification 100x; C- Shiny micropolish, soft and wavy on the upper face, magnification 100x.
Crédits Credit R. Furestier and S. Philibert.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/pm/docannexe/image/4757/img-7.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 1,1M
Titre 14. Aven Ka, blade with sickle gloss on its left edge, used as a sickle element.
Légende A- Used edge with remnants of sickle gloss on the resharpened edge of the blade; B- Cereal gloss developed at the distal end of the blade, 100x; C- Blunt edge, intense gloss and D- Smooth, flat and compact micropolish, characteristic of cereal harvesting, 100x (note its low-abrasive aspect); E- Gloss at the proximal end of the blade; F- Close-up view of abrasive microwear, 200x.
Crédits Credit R. Furestier and S. Philibert
URL http://journals.openedition.org/pm/docannexe/image/4757/img-8.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 1,1M
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Aurore Schmitt, Aurore Bertrand, Florent Chateauneuf, Robin Furestier, Johanna Recchia-Quiniou, Émilie Blaise, Lucas Salazard, Sylvie Philibert et Mélie Le Roy, « The neolithic collective burial in the karstic cavity aven Ka (Tharaux-Gard)–abridged version »Préhistoires Méditerranéennes, 13 | -1, 7-40.

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Aurore Schmitt, Aurore Bertrand, Florent Chateauneuf, Robin Furestier, Johanna Recchia-Quiniou, Émilie Blaise, Lucas Salazard, Sylvie Philibert et Mélie Le Roy, « The neolithic collective burial in the karstic cavity aven Ka (Tharaux-Gard)–abridged version »Préhistoires Méditerranéennes [En ligne], 13 | 2025, mis en ligne le 30 octobre 2025, consulté le 13 décembre 2025. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/pm/4757 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/1520i

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Auteurs

Aurore Schmitt

UMR 5140 ASM, Université de Montpellier Paul-Valéry, CNRS, Ministère de la Culture – Route de Mende, 34199 Montpellier, France, aurore.schmitt@cnrs.fr

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Aurore Bertrand

Paleotime – 75 rue J.-S. Achard Picard, 38250 Villard-de-Lans, France, aurore.bertrand@paleotime.fr

Florent Chateauneuf

Inrap Midi-Méditerrannée – 14 rue d’Anthoine, 13002 Marseille, France / UMR 7269 LAMPEA, Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, Minist Culture – MMSH, 5 rue du Château de l’Horloge, Aix-en-Provence, France, florent.chateauneuf@inrap.fr

Robin Furestier

UMR 5140 ASM, Université de Montpellier Paul-Valéry, CNRS, Ministère de la Culture – Route de Mende, 34199 Montpellier, France, robin.furestier@cnrs.fr

Johanna Recchia-Quiniou

UMR 5140 ASM, Université de Montpellier Paul-Valéry, CNRS, Ministère de la Culture – Route de Mende, 34199 Montpellier, France
Paleotime – 75 rue J.-S. Achard Picard, 38250 Villard-de-Lans, France, johanna.recchia@paleotime.fr

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Émilie Blaise

UMR 5140 ASM, Université de Montpellier Paul-Valéry, CNRS, Ministère de la Culture – Route de Mende, 34199 Montpellier, France, emilie.blaise@gmail.com

Lucas Salazard

UMR 5140 ASM, Université de Montpellier Paul-Valéry, CNRS, Ministère de la Culture – Route de Mende, 34199 Montpellier, France, lucas.salazard@hotmail.com

Sylvie Philibert

UMR 5608 TRACES, Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès – Maison de la Recherche 5, allée Antonio Machado 31058 Toulouse Cedex 9, France, sphil@univ-tlse2.fr

Mélie Le Roy

Archaeology and Anthropology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Bournemouth University, Fern Barrow – Poole BH12 5BB, UK, mleroy@bournemouth.ac.uk

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