24 April 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Circular-shaped Iron Age Gallic Village discovered in Côtes d’Armor, France

A major archaeological discovery has just been made at Cap d’Erquy, in the Côtes d’Armor region, France. The ruins of a circular-shaped village dating from the Iron Age have been uncovered using revolutionary satellite imaging technology.

The village discovered at Cap d’Erquy consists of around twenty circular huts arranged around a central square. Archaeologists believe that this village was occupied between the 8th and 5th centuries BC by a Gallic community.

The area that the ancient Gauls called home included parts of western Germany, northern Italy, and Belgium in addition to present-day France. The Gauls, a Celtic people, were divided into multiple tribes and ruled by a landed class in their agricultural society.

The tribes throughout Gaul operated independently from one another and only united in times of crisis. Each tribe had its leaders and their religions. During the Gallic Wars (58–50 BC), Julius Caesar led the Romans in their conquest of Gaul.

“This is an exceptional discovery that gives us a better understanding of the daily life of the Gauls during the Iron Age. This technology paves the way for significant new discoveries and allows for the exploration of archaeological sites that were previously inaccessible,” explains Jean-Yves Peskebrel, an archaeologist at INRAE ​​(National Institute for e-realistic Archaeological Research).

Developed by INRAE and known as “LiDAR”, this technology uses lasers to scan the ground and create volume reconstructions of unrivalled accuracy. This process makes it possible to detect buried structures that are invisible to the naked eye, without the need for invasive excavations.

The discovery of the Cap d’Erquy village is a spectacular illustration of the potential of LiDAR technology for archaeology. This technology paves the way for major discoveries and makes it possible to explore archaeological sites that are inaccessible through traditional excavations.

Côtes d’Armor de Département

Related Articles

On a 5,300-year-old skull, archaeologists find evidence of the first known ear surgery

20 February 2022

20 February 2022

Humans may have begun performing ear surgery more than 5,000 years ago, say Spanish archaeologists. Spanish researchers say the skull...

The 3400-year-old city belonging to a mysterious Kingdom emerged from the Tigris river

30 May 2022

30 May 2022

Archaeologists from Germany and Kurdistan have discovered a 3,400-year-old Mittani Empire-era city on the Tigris River. The ruins emerged on...

Tomb of an Urartian buried with his dog, cattle, sheep, and 4 horses unearthed

6 September 2021

6 September 2021

In ancient times, the dead were buried with their living and non-living things. The offerings placed as dead gifts varied...

8000-year-old with balcony architectural structure belonging to the Prehistoric period found in Anatolia

31 October 2021

31 October 2021

During the excavations in Domuztepe mound, it was revealed that an architectural structure thought to be 7-8 thousand years old...

Archaeologists discover innovative 40,000-year-old culture in China

2 March 2022

2 March 2022

Ancient hunter-gatherers living in what is now China may have been the first people in East Asia to process mustard...

The Mysterious Prehistoric Underwater Structure Beneath Lake Michigan

6 February 2024

6 February 2024

A prehistoric structure reminiscent of England’s iconic Stonehenge has been uncovered in Grand Traverse Bay, an arm of Lake Michigan...

The mythical hero of Troy and Rome Aeneas’s peerless mosaic discovered in Türkiye

11 May 2023

11 May 2023

A large mosaic depicting the legendary Trojan hero Aeneas, the protagonist of Virgil’s epic poem “The Aeneid” and the ancestor...

The remains of two new Doric temples are discovered under the Italian site of Paestum

15 January 2024

15 January 2024

Archaeologists have unearthed two new temples in the Doric style in Paestum, an ancient Greek colony in southern Italy. The...

The 1,000-year-old Church found under a cornfield in Germany

2 July 2021

2 July 2021

The foundation walls of the large church of the rediscovered Royal Palace of Helfta in Eisleben in the German state...

Central Turkey’s largest Byzantine mosaic structure found

28 October 2021

28 October 2021

A 300-square-meter (3,330 square feet) ​floor mosaic belonging to the Late Roman-Early Byzantine period was discovered during excavation work in...

Medieval ship found off the west coast of Sweden

5 February 2022

5 February 2022

A previously undiscovered wreck has been found outside of Fjällbacka on the Swedish west coast. Analysis of wood samples shows...

The 3,200-year-old perfume of Tapputi, the first female chemist in history, came to life again

24 July 2022

24 July 2022

One of the scent formulas written in Akkadian on clay tablets by Tapputi, known as the world’s first female perfumer...

Glacier archaeologists find a 1300-year-old arrow in melting ice

20 August 2022

20 August 2022

The Glacier archaeologists found a 1300-year-old arrow from the Norwegian Iron Age during a research project on the Langfonne ice...

Roman Wooden Cellar Found in Frankfurt, Germany

28 February 2024

28 February 2024

Archaeologists from the Frankfurt Archaeological Museum have recently uncovered a remarkably preserved wooden cellar in the Roman city of Nida...

A relief of a man holding his Phallus was found in Sayburç, one of the Taş Tepeler

18 October 2021

18 October 2021

In Sayburç, one of the Taş Tepeler in Şanlıurfa, a five-figure scene consisting of humans, leopards, and a bull was...