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Origin and history

The prehistoric compound of Champ-Durand is a major archaeological site located in Nieul-sur-l'Autise, in the département of Vendée (Pays de la Loire). Discovered in 1971 by Maurice Marsac with aerial photographs, it was searched between 1975 and 1985 under the direction of Roger Joussaume. The site, which was listed as a historical monument in 1990, consists of a threefold, almost circular enclosure 250 metres in diameter, bounded by three parallel ditches interrupted, probably barred by walls. These ditches, dug using deer wood peaks, represent a monumental 1.5 km long construction site, with walls reinforced by stone walls extracted on site.

The site was occupied primarily in the recent Neolithic by the Peupe-Richard culture, and briefly in the final Neolithic and the ancient Bronze, during which the ditches were already filled. The excavations revealed five burial areas in the second ditch, containing eight bodies, including double and simple graves. The bones have traumas suggesting special funeral practices, comparable to those observed at the nearby site of the Auzay-Chatelliers. Archaeological material includes polished axes, flint arrow tips, campaniform ceramics, grinding wheels, and bone and deer wood tools, indicating agricultural, artisanal and possibly commercial activities.

The habitat appears to have been backed by the internal wall, while the central space was used for community life and animal parking. The occupants, farmers-breeders (beefs, pigs, goats, sheep), also engaged in hunting and fishing incidentally. A study of the animal bones reveals that the site was a centre for the slaughter of bovids, which could host a market. Trepanation of a bovid skull and rarity of wild bones suggest a mainly domestic economy. According to Roger Joussaume, the occupation of the site may not have been permanent.

The ditches, of decreasing depth and width towards the outside, were initially reinforced by stone walls extended up to 2.5 to 3 metres. Subsequent developments, such as palissades at the ancient Bronze in the north, indicate functional adaptations over time. The ceramics found, typical of the recent Neolithic of the Seuil de Poitou and the Pied-Richardien maritime, show links with other megalithic sites in Vendée, the Deux-Sèvres and Maine-et-Loire. Some could be linked to the exploitation of marine salt.

The Champ-Durand compound illustrates a complex social organization, with spaces dedicated to the living and the dead, and a collective management of resources. Its gradual abandonment, marked by the collapse of the walls and the closing of the gaps, coincides with the evolution of cultural practices between the final Neolithic and the ancient Bronze. The site, partially acquired by the Vendée General Council, remains an exceptional testimony of prehistoric societies in western France.

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