Mont Terri forms a buttress of the Lomont ridge (part of the Jura mountains), and is separated from it by a saddle called Derrière Mont Terri. The wooded summit forms a plateau four hectares (ten acres) in area. It is bounded on the west and southwest sides by steep cliffs, the remaining sides are protected by an ancient rampart. At the highest point of the plateau are the remains of a medieval fortified tower.[2]
Historyedit
The summit of Mont Terri is known locally as "Julius Caesar's Camp" (French language: Camp de Jules César); however, the earliest traces of habitation are from the Neolithic era. Pottery finds suggests that there was occupation during the Middle and Late Bronze Age. During the 1st century BC, a rampart was built of typical Gallic construction, a Murus Gallicus; it has been associated with the Gallic Wars, but the only firm dating for the site is a later Roman coin from the reign of Augustus. There are also finds from a further period of occupation in the 4th century AD and other finds extend into the 10th century.[2] A stone tower was built on the site in the 13th century, probably replacing a previous wooden one, and is probably the "Château Thierry" mentioned in contemporary texts.[3]
Archaeological investigationsedit
The first investigation of the site was by an antiquarian and Jesuit priest, Father Pierre-Joseph Dunod, at the start of the 18th century. Writing in 1716, Father Dunod speculated that the site was the scene of a decisive battle between Caesar and the Suebi tribe led by Ariovistus.[4] There were later excavations by the owners of the site, Koeckler and Maupassant, who were found to have planted antiquities that they had purchased elsewhere, the deception being uncovered in 1862 by archaeologist Auguste Quiquerez (1801-1882). In the 20th century, methodical excavations by Alban Gerster (1898-1986) and in 1984 by a team from the University of Basle, have uncovered a range of finds from Neolithic flint arrow heads to a 10th-century dinarius coin from the reign of Louis IV of France.[2]
^. KGS Inventar (in German). Federal Office of Civil Protection. 2009. Archived from the original on 28 June 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
^ abcJuillerat, Claude; Schifferdecker, François. "Mont Terri (site archéologique, Cornol)". diju.ch (in French). Dictionnaire du Jura. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
^Demarez, Jean-Daniel (January 2004). . w3.jura.ch (in French). Canton de Jura, Office de la culture, Section d'archéologie et paléontologie. Archived from the original on 24 May 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
^Dunod, Pierre-Joseph (1716). Lettres à Monsieur l'abbé de B*** sur les découvertes qu'on a faites sur le Rhin (in French). p. 25.
mont, terri, castle, ruined, medieval, castle, above, prehistoric, hillfort, mont, terri, located, municipality, cornol, canton, jura, switzerland, swiss, heritage, site, national, significance, mont, terri, showing, natural, cliffs, which, protect, western, s. Mont Terri Castle is a ruined medieval castle above a prehistoric hillfort on Mont Terri located in the municipality of Cornol of the Canton of Jura in Switzerland It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance 1 Mont Terri showing the natural cliffs which protect the western side of the summit plateau Contents 1 Description 2 History 3 Archaeological investigations 4 See also 5 ReferencesDescription editMont Terri forms a buttress of the Lomont ridge part of the Jura mountains and is separated from it by a saddle called Derriere Mont Terri The wooded summit forms a plateau four hectares ten acres in area It is bounded on the west and southwest sides by steep cliffs the remaining sides are protected by an ancient rampart At the highest point of the plateau are the remains of a medieval fortified tower 2 History editThe summit of Mont Terri is known locally as Julius Caesar s Camp French language Camp de Jules Cesar however the earliest traces of habitation are from the Neolithic era Pottery finds suggests that there was occupation during the Middle and Late Bronze Age During the 1st century BC a rampart was built of typical Gallic construction a Murus Gallicus it has been associated with the Gallic Wars but the only firm dating for the site is a later Roman coin from the reign of Augustus There are also finds from a further period of occupation in the 4th century AD and other finds extend into the 10th century 2 A stone tower was built on the site in the 13th century probably replacing a previous wooden one and is probably the Chateau Thierry mentioned in contemporary texts 3 Archaeological investigations editThe first investigation of the site was by an antiquarian and Jesuit priest Father Pierre Joseph Dunod at the start of the 18th century Writing in 1716 Father Dunod speculated that the site was the scene of a decisive battle between Caesar and the Suebi tribe led by Ariovistus 4 There were later excavations by the owners of the site Koeckler and Maupassant who were found to have planted antiquities that they had purchased elsewhere the deception being uncovered in 1862 by archaeologist Auguste Quiquerez 1801 1882 In the 20th century methodical excavations by Alban Gerster 1898 1986 and in 1984 by a team from the University of Basle have uncovered a range of finds from Neolithic flint arrow heads to a 10th century dinarius coin from the reign of Louis IV of France 2 See also editList of castles in SwitzerlandReferences edit Kantonsliste A Objekte KGS Inventar in German Federal Office of Civil Protection 2009 Archived from the original on 28 June 2010 Retrieved 25 April 2011 a b c Juillerat Claude Schifferdecker Francois Mont Terri site archeologique Cornol diju ch in French Dictionnaire du Jura Retrieved 12 January 2017 Demarez Jean Daniel January 2004 Cornol Mont Terri w3 jura ch in French Canton de Jura Office de la culture Section d archeologie et paleontologie Archived from the original on 24 May 2016 Retrieved 12 January 2017 Dunod Pierre Joseph 1716 Lettres a Monsieur l abbe de B sur les decouvertes qu on a faites sur le Rhin in French p 25 47 23 28 N 7 09 40 E 47 391222 N 7 161164 E 47 391222 7 161164 nbsp nbsp This article about a castle in Switzerland is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mont Terri Castle amp oldid 1175084231, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
