Ensérune, a village in pre-roman Gaul

The hill of Ensérune, between the arid garrigue of Languedoc and the shores of the Mediterranean, presents favourable conditions for human settlement : a healthy site rising above marshlands, and a strategic position to benefit from the development of trade that stimulated the whole region. The site was abandoned and completely forgotten after the Roman conquest until it was rediscovered in 1860. First excavated in 1915, the site has been protected as an historic monument since 1928. It provides a remarkable view over the Étang de Montady to the north and the Canal du Midi to the south. Its museum presents one of the finest collections of Attic vases in southern France and the foremost collection of Gaulish arms and adornments in Languedoc. The « Itinéraires » series, designed as a guide for cultural tourism, invites the visitor to discover the highroads and byways of the French national heritage.