GLOZEL

Introduction

This site, discovered by chance in 1924 by peasants from the Allier area (a grandfather and his grandson who were working the land to turn it into pasture) would become famous, would attract big names and crowds of people, but would also be severely criticized. Rivalries and petty human conflicts would tarnish the numerous discoveries of extraordinary, very original pieces. The reputation of the site would suffer greatly. In the world of archaeology in particular too many people took and still take delight in underestimating it.

Extensive literature was produced; the French bibliography alone already extends to more than 85 pages.

Localisation

The hamlet of Glozel comes under Ferrières sur Sichon, in the district of Mayet de Montagne situated some 20 kilometers from Vichy, north of the Bois Noirs massif and west of the Monts de la Madeleine (the northern end of the Massif Central, commonly known as the Bourbonnaise mountain).

Discoveries of similar objects have been found nearby, for example at Moulin Piat, 2 1/2 kilometers south; at Guerrier 3 kilometers away on the right bank of the river Vareille (some of the pieces can be found at the Earth Sciences Museum of Villeurbanne University); at Puyraval 10 kilometers upstream.

The geology of the region is very complex and difficult to come to grips with, in particular as far as archeornetric analyses are concerned. The substratum is in large measure composed of heavily charged radioactive constituents containing large quantities of uranium in its natural state. This makes analysis results unreliable until further research can determine what the impact has been on the original results.

(from a map established by Dr CHABROL)