The Middle Palaeolithic in the Centre-Val de Loire Region

New Data from the Study of the Enclos Site and Comparisons with the Lithic Series from Coulvreux and Radray (Loiret, Eure-et-Loir)

Bibliographic Data

ID7514457
AuthorsChristine Mathias (0000-0002-0050-153X, corresponding author), Delphine Capron, Céline Coussot, Émilie Claud (0009-0005-2439-9954), Michel Brenet (0000-0003-0692-8654)
Year2026
Volume66
Publication date2026-01-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGallia préhistoire (BOOK_SERIES)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0016-4127 • E-ISSN: 2109-9642
PublisherOpenEdition (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.4000/15uiw
OpenAlexW7135039361
LanguageEN
References cited13

Evidence of prehistoric settlement in the Centre-Val de Loire region is scarce. In this context, the preventive excavation of the Enclos open-air archaeological site (Mainvilliers) has revealed one or more Middle Palaeolithic occupations. The geological study of the site showed that the lithic artefacts were preserved in the upstream part of a palaeo-valley infill, within colluvial sediments strongly affected by cryoturbation. The layer with lithic remains is not very dense and lies at the top of a sequence of palaeosols that formed between isotopic stages 10 and 3. The 460 flint artefacts in the lithic assemblage bear witness to a complex taphonomic history after their abandonment and burial, including post-depositional reworking. This is evident from frequent surface, raw material, and edge alterations. Additionally, the small lithic fraction is underrepresented, suggesting that no specific local flint production or retouching areas were preserved. For the lithic industry, various flake production methods coexist—Levallois, volumetric laminar, and potentially Discoid—which is consistent with the variability observed in regional Middle Palaeolithic techno-complexes. The flake tools are not highly standardised and include a few side scrapers, as well as complete or broken bifaces. Due to weathering of the surface and cutting edges of most of the tools, only two bifaces, one core, and one flake showed identifiable use-wear. One biface may have served as a lighter to produce fire, and the other three pieces showed signs of use as hammer stones. A techno-economic comparison of the Enclos assemblage with an experimental reference collection and two recently discovered lithic series—from Coulvreux (Eure-et-Loir) and Radray (Loiret)—suggests that the reworked lithic remains derive from a site with mixed functions, used for both the production and consumption of tools made from local flint flakes. Mobile bifacial tools made from an undetermined flint type were also brought to the site. The dimensional composition of the assemblage, the near absence of refits, the low density of the layer, and significant spatial dispersion tend to rule out the probability of a single, synchronous human occupation. Two thermoluminescence dates place the Neanderthal occupations or visits to the Enclos site within a broad chronological bracket, ranging between 57,940 and 42,820 years ago, corresponding to the early part of isotopic stage 3. No further details are available as regards the type, status and characteristics of the Enclos site in Mainvilliers. However, the site is of great importance as it provides clear and hitherto unknown evidence of Neanderthal presence on the plateau west of Chartres during a late phase of the Middle Palaeolithic. Excavations have also clarified the geomorphological context and chronostratigraphic framework of this area, which spans nearly 350,000 years

Assemblage (archaeology) · Colluvium · Debitage · Excavation · Flake · Mousterian · Prehistory · Taphonomy · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology

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