Vineyards Unearthed in Marseille Reveal How Ancient Greeks Brought Winemaking to France

Excavation tract astatine Marseille, France. Credit: Axel Cauvin / Inrap

Archaeologists person unearthed the remains of vineyards beneath the streets of Marseille, erstwhile the ancient Greek metropolis of Massalia (Greek: Μασσαλία), offering uncommon penetration into however aboriginal Greek settlers brought Mediterranean farming and winemaking to France much than 2,000 years ago.

The excavation, led by France’s National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap), took spot adjacent Boulevard de Vintimille and Cazemajou successful the city’s 15th arrondissement.

The tract lies conscionable southbound of a 2023 excavation and forms portion of the chôra massaliète—the agrarian territory that supplied the Greek colony of Massalia, founded by Greeks of Phocaea astir 600 BCE.

Located astir 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from the fortified city, the country erstwhile sustained farms and vineyards that supported 1 of the earliest Greek communities successful Western Europe.

Excavation nether challenging conditions

The excavation was conducted successful a erstwhile concern portion contaminated by pollutants, requiring cautious decontamination earlier excavation. Archaeologists supervised mechanical digging to a extent of 1.5 meters (5 feet) to region polluted ungraded portion preserving archaeological remains.

Using a grid strategy and laboratory analyses, they measured contamination astatine antithetic depths and divided the onshore into sections. Each batch of world was past treated astatine specialized decontamination centers.

Despite these constraints, the 1,300-square-meter (14,000-square-foot) excavation revealed the remains of an past hillside vineyard and grounds of organized agriculture dating from the 5th to 2nd centuries BCE.

A glimpse of Greek viticulture

In antiquity, the tract extended on the occidental slope of a tiny coastal elevation little than 250 meters (820 feet) from the sea. Archaeologists identified 3 successive vineyards cultivated implicit 4 centuries, offering a nonstop presumption of Greek agrarian planning.

Stone hearth astatine the excavation site. Credit: Axel Cauvin / Inrap

The earliest, from the 5th–4th centuries BCE, had neatly arranged quadrate pits successful parallel northeast–southwest rows. The second, from the 3rd–2nd centuries BCE, featured continuous rows much than 5 meters (16 feet) long. The third, successful the confederate zone, shifted to a northwest–southeast layout, with trenches stretching astir 19 meters (62 feet).

General presumption of the 3rd vineyard being excavated with linear and parallel planting pits. Credit: Axel Cauvin / Inrap

The precision of these alignments mirrors vineyard structures recovered successful different Greek colonies crossed the Mediterranean, reflecting a shared cultivation contented adapted to Marseille’s coastal terrain.

Advanced techniques from the Greek world

Analysis of the planting pits revealed 2 superior methods: quadrate alveus pits—described centuries aboriginal by Pliny the Elder—and continuous trenches known arsenic sulci. Imprints of roots and woody stakes showed however the vines were supported, portion perpendicular pits indicated provignage, a layering method utilized to renew plants.

Two circular silos, each astir 1 metre (3 feet) deep, suggest that section farmers practiced polyculture, combining vine increasing with cereal crops, a method wide utilized successful the past Greek world.

First charcoal filling of the Roman silo. Credit: S. Mathie / Inrap

At the bluish edge, an east–west transmission chopped into the bedrock, bordered by a chromatic partition of limestone and pebbles, points to aboriginal h2o absorption strategies. The operation contained sediment and runoff, showing however Greek colonists adapted hydraulic engineering to support fertile soil.

Linking Massalia to the wider Greek network

From the 5th to the 2nd centuries BCE, Massalia thrived arsenic a maritime and trading hub, connecting Greece, southern Gaul, and the occidental Mediterranean. Yet until recently, small was known astir however its surrounding lands were organized.

The 2 caller Inrap excavations—covering a combined 2,200 quadrate meters (24,000 quadrate feet)—now supply the archetypal elaborate look astatine its bluish countryside.

The discoveries corroborate that viticulture was cardinal to the colony’s economy. Wine produced astir Massalia was exported crossed confederate Gaul, reaching Celtic communities done established Greek commercialized routes. The predominant find of Marseille amphorae connected protohistoric sites passim the portion attests to the standard of this commerce.

These vineyards basal arsenic carnal grounds of however Greek settlers transformed the landscapes of aboriginal France, introducing caller cultivation techniques, irrigation systems, and economical networks that would aboriginal power Roman and European viticulture for centuries.