Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The fortified site of the Calle Stone, located in Etival-Clairefontaine in the Vosges, is a barred spur culminating at 492.3 meters of altitude. This 2.5-hectare camp, protected by natural ramparts and cliffs, monitored eastern access to the Saint-Dié basin. Two entrances (north and south) structure the site, reinforced by a 20-metre ditch and a palisade. Its name would come from a cupstone called pan stone, located at its eastern end.

The excavations, initiated in 1967-1969 by a TV transmitter project, revealed a wooden Celtic bridge of the 1st century BC (La Tene D2) at the foot of the plateau. Ranked a Historic Monument in 1969, the site was the subject of campaigns until 1981. The discoveries include 37 habitat structures, weapons (throwing iron), artisan tools (scories, lead), and an Italian Campanian ceramic, proof of distant trade.

The furniture attests to two major occupations: the middle/final tena (C2/D1-D2) and the Gallo-Roman period. The objects suggest a hierarchical society (aristocrats, warriors, artisans) and a Gallo-Roman place of worship covered with tegulae. The site, also known as Répy camp or Saracen castle, illustrates the adaptation of populations to the strategic reliefs of the Vosges.

The ceramic studies (1982, 2010) analysed more than 17,000 teasses, including wine amphora and dolia, confirming Mediterranean trade. This research, conducted after the 1969 ranking, clarified the role of the site as an economic and military crossroads between Gaul and Italy during antiquity.

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