The funerary area of the 5th and 6th c. CE of Saint-Martin-le-Bas at Gruissan (Aude, France)

Abstract

Located near Narbonne, the coastal settlement of Saint-Martin-le-Bas in Gruissan was very active during Late Antiquity. Although the habitat of this period remains to be studied, a funerary area associated with this occupation is located on a small relief dominating the coastline. Its exhaustive excavation has revealed 39 funerary structures which are divided into 4 phases of occupation, from the end of the 3rd century to the 13th century. The first burials took place after the abandonment of the buildings of the Early Empire, at the end of the 3rd or in the 4th century. Then, probably in the 5th or 6th century, burials of an exceptional nature were set up in a funerary building. A desire to gather these tombs around the first sarcophagus seems to be at the origin of the development of the southern funerary area of the 5th and 6th centuries. The data provided by the study of this funerary complex contributes to the ongoing reflection on the status of this late antique site.