Acropolis Roquepertuse was an ancient Celtic religious center. It is near the city of Velaux, 16 miles west of Aix-en-Provence and north of Marseille, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southern France. The site was first recorded in 1824 in the Bouches-du-Rhône civil records when a partially buried statue of a cross-legged warrior was found in the garden of the parish priest. The structure was destroyed by the Romans in 124 BC and rediscovered in 1860 when a partially uncovered statue was fully excavated. Most of the excavations took place in 1923 by Henri de Gérin-Ricard.

Excavations

In the 19th century, the first sculptures were found by accident, which led to the first digging of the site by Count Henry de Gérin-Ricard. Over the next ten years, from 1917 to 1927, several excavations took place and uncovered structures believed to be a sanctuary linked to the Celto-Ligures, originally thought to date to a time just before the Romans took over the area.

The relics are now officially dated to the 3rd century BC, based on evidence of Celtic expansion into the region during that time. However, some statues found at the site show clothing and gestures that suggest they may be from the 5th or 6th century BC. These statues are unique because they are shown sitting with their legs crossed.

A platform measuring 50 meters by 22 meters, paved with flat stones and including a few reused headstones, was discovered. This platform was split in the middle by a staircase made of large stone blocks. Stone walls on both sides of the stairs formed a terrace, likely one of several that were part of the original complex.

On the platform was a structure described as a portal, door frame, or portico with pillars, carved from limestone. The columns had hollow spaces where human stone masks and skulls were placed. The lintel above the doorway was carved with the heads of four horses and had painted decorations. At the top of the lintel was a limestone statue of a bird, 60 cm by 60 cm, once thought to be a goose but now believed to represent a raptor.

A two-faced sculpture made of limestone, neither male nor female, measuring 0.2 meters in height and 30 centimeters in length, was also found. Two other statues showed figures sitting with their legs crossed, each standing 0.62 meters tall.

At first, archaeologists believed the site was a secluded sanctuary. However, recent studies suggest it was a larger area of about 0.5 hectares, including a sanctuary to the north and a protective wall.

The site is important because it provides evidence of the Celtic head cult, a tradition of worshiping heads mentioned in Greek and Roman writings.

The site is near another Celtic-Roman location called Entremont, which had similar carvings of severed human and horse heads and skull niches carved into pillars. Nearby are several oppida, or hillforts, from the same time period. Roquepertuse was declared a protected historical site in 1967.

There were no homes for worshippers at Roquepertuse, and it was used as a sanctuary where only priests may have lived permanently.