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).
Credit M. Le Roy.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.