Le village lacustre de Rives 2 et l’occupation des terrasses de Thonon-les-Bains (Haute-Savoie) à l’âge du Bronze
Résumé
The shoreline of Thonon-les-Bains and its hinterland, located at the northern end of the French Alps, between Lake Geneva and the foothills of the Chablais mountains, provides a suitable framework for the spatial and diachronic analysis of land use during the Bronze Age. This work is based on the study of ancient discoveries and the results of recent rescue operations. It focuses on the pile-dwelling village of Rives 2, dated between the mid- and end-Late Bronze Age (BF 2b-3b). The study area follows the coastline in both directions from Thonon along a total width of 5 km, and extends 5 km into the hinterland. This territory is located on alluvial terraces of glacial origin which reach an altitude of almost 400 m above the shore, nowadays artificially maintained from 372 m to 750 m. The shoreline is cut by water courses that are tributaries of the Rhône river: the Dranse river to the east, the Pamphiot river to the west, and the Redon river still farther east. On the terraces the glacial retreats left some sinkholes. These were filled by nowadays drained marshlands, which in the past attracted populations because of their environmental resources. People settled there from the Middle Neolithic period, clearing the slopes intensively at the beginning of the Late Bronze Age. For instance, the swamps of Versoie, including the settlements of le Genevray and Aviet, are located on plateaus at a height of 450 m and 600 m respectively. Both are located on the edge of the Pamphiot canyon, which was possibly a communication route when it crossed the barrier topped by the Allinges Middle Age castles, as well as a boundary for east-west circulations. In addition to physical geographic aspects that made it possible to define the limits of this work, distances and elevation gains were also taken into account. Indeed, in accordance with the site catchment analysis theories, we stayed within an area accessed by a one-hour walk, which is the time needed to cover the territory of an agropastoral sedentary community on a daily basis.
Le territoire littoral de Thonon-les-Bains (Haute-Savoie) et son arrière-pays, enserrés entre le massif du Chablais et le lac Léman, offrent un cadre propice à une approche spatiale de l’occupation des sols au cours de l’âge du Bronze. D’après les données bibliographiques anciennes, la station lacustre de Rives 2 à Thonon-les-Bains est mentionnée pour la première fois en 1858. Des prospections subaquatiques ont été réalisées par le DRASSM en 1996-1997. L’analyse dendrochronologique des pieux prélevés et les mobiliers céramique et métallique mis au jour s’accordent, désignant les phases moyenne et récente de l’âge du Bronze final alpin. La zone étudiée couvre près de 40 km² et intègre le terroir associé au site de Rives 2, dans le cadre généralement admis de l’heure de marche quotidienne. Ce secteur, tout comme celui de Chens-sur-Léman, présente une forte concentration de données terrestres par rapport au reste de la rive méridionale du Léman. Du village lacustre aux habitats et nécropoles qui s’étagent sur les terrasses glaciaires, sur les rives des marais comblant les anciennes dolines d’Aviet à Allinges et de Versoie au Genevray, une douzaine de sites structurent ainsi un terroir relativement bien documenté, en particulier pour la seconde moitié du Bronze final.