The hypogeum necropolises of La Grifaine and Les Ronds Buissons in Chouilly (Marne)

Abstract

The hypogeum necropolises of Saran/Les Tombeaux in Chouilly (51, Marne) have been the subject of many publications. No synthesis exists of the successive discoveries made between 1806 and 1956. The existing literature and archives concerning the hypogeum necropolises of La Grifaine and Les Ronds Buissons in Chouilly (Marne) were compiled to provide an overview. The artefacts were inventoried in sets, for each hypogeum, room by room, although precise artefact locations were never recorded. The graves and artefacts can be dated to the second half of the 4th millennium cal. BC. In 2015, an archaeological investigation was conducted in the necropolis by the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP). The hypogea found in 1922 were re-excavated and explored, and three new hypogea were also discovered nearby. The newly completed site map now shows eleven hypogea, thus ranking this site among the largest hypogeum necropolises in the Marne region (51, France). The three hypogea recently discovered at La Grifaine apparently have only one chamber each but, at the same site, the five best-documented hypogea have two chambers and an antechamber. This layout is comparable to those of Les Mournouards 3 in Le Mesnil‑sur‑Oger and Le Mont‑Aimé I and II in Coligny (Val‑des‑Marais). These regional comparisons highlight the existence of a hypogeum group, different from that in Les Marais de Saint‑Gond, located immediately to the west, where there are no hypogea with two burial chambers. In the current state of knowledge, these differences seem to correspond more closely to cultural facies or social behaviours than to distinct chronological phases.