Vix Grave

The Vix Grave is a burial mound near the village of Vix in northern Burgundy. The broader site is a prehistoric Celtic complex from the Late Hallstatt and Early La Tène periods, consisting of a fortified settlement and several burial mounds.

The grave of the Lady of Vix, dating to circa 500 BC, had never been disturbed and thus contained remarkably rich grave offerings. Known in French as the Trésor de Vix, these included a great deal of jewelry and the bronze "Vix krater", the largest known metal vessel from Western classical antiquity.

The sites are located near the village of Vix, about 6 km north of Châtillon-sur-Seine, in the department of Côte-d'Or, in northeastern Burgundy. The complex is centred on Mont Lassois, a steep, flat-topped hill that dominates the area. It was the site of a fortified Celtic settlement, or oppidum. To the southeast of the hill, there was a 42-hectare necropolis with graves ranging from the Late Bronze Age via the Hallstatt Culture to Late La Tène. Other finds indicate activity up to Late Antiquity.

During the sixth and fifth centuries BC, the Vix (or Mont Lassois) settlement appears to have controlled a major trading node, where the Seine, an important riverine transport route linking eastern and western France, crossed the land route leading from the Mediterranean to northern Europe. Additionally, Vix is at the centre of an agriculturally rich plain.

Discovery of archaeological material in the area, originally by a locally based amateur, began in April 1930. Increasingly systematic work throughout the following decades revealed thousands of pottery sherds, fibulae, jewellery, and other bronze and iron finds. The burial mound with the krater was excavated in early 1953 by René Joffroy. In 1991 new archaeological research on and around Mont Lassois began under the direction of Bruno Chaume. Since 2001 a programme of research titled "Vix et son environnement" began, uniting the resources of several universities.

Excavation of the settlement on the summit of Mont Lassois revealed extensive fortifications, with ditches and walls up to 8 m thick. The walls were built in the Pfostenschlitzmauer technique, but also yielded nails of the type common in murus gallicus walls. Excavation inside the enclosure revealed a variety of buildings, including post houses, pit dwellings, hearths, and storage units built on stilts. Geophysical work shows a large planned settlement, with a central, north–south axis and several phases of buildings.

In 2006, a large complex with five large buildings was discovered at the centre of the site. The main building measured 35 by 22 m, with an estimated interior height of at least 15 m. The large hall had an apse at the back and a front porch in antis. Overall, the central unit resembles the megaron complex of early Greek architecture. Such a find is unprecedented in early Celtic Europe. Finds suggested domestic use or feasting uses. The structure has been described as the "Palace" of the Lady of Vix (Palais de la Dame de Vix). According to Chaume (2011): "The interior space of about 500 m² is divided into three rooms of unequal size. This achievement demonstrates a mastery of geometry and carpentry capable of freeing up vast interior spaces". Geomagnetic surveying has revealed another large apsidal building in a large walled area at the foot of Mont Lassois, on the other side of the river Seine. The building is of similar size and design to those on the Mont Lassois plateau and has also been described as a 'palatial' building. All six large buildings have an identical east-west orientation with their main entrances facing towards the sunrise in the east. This configuration may have been chosen for symbolic rather than practical reasons. Various authors have suggested that the Lady of Vix may have been a priestess as well as a 'queen'.

The many individual finds from the Lassois oppidum clearly demonstrate the settlement's long and wide-ranging trade contacts, as well as its own role as an economic centre. The most common finds are shards of pottery, with more than 40,000 recorded to date. Many are local products, decorated with simple geometric motifs (checkerboard patterns) and occasional depictions of animals. There also have been finds of imported Attic black figure vases from Greece. Many amphorae and bowls could be identified as coming from the contemporary Greek-settled areas of southern France. The amphorae had been used for transporting wine.