The Gallic town

The birth of Lattara city

By the late sixth century BCE, local peoples – possibly encouraged by Etruscan sailors and traders – began to inhabit a knoll that rose above the lagoon and the Lez valley. This was the beginning of the town of Lattara. It is likely that this establishment united several dispersed settlements that had been constructed in the vicinity. Despite this partial regrouping of the population, some settlements continued to exist outside of the town. From this time onward, located at a crossroads of trade and transfer, Lattara would be a driving force in the distribution of imported goods and the spread of ideas, techniques and people.

The rampart

From its creation in the sixth century BCE, the town was fortified with a rampart that enclosed an area of approximately 3.3 hectares (about 8 acres). As in the majority of other protohistoric settlements, this was intended to protect the town, but also served to structure its principal roads. The town was roughly triangular in shape; the only corner excavated , to the southeast, is slightly rounded. The three sides consisted of curtain walls that were more or less straight. To the south, the rampart was reinforced by a fore-wall.