The best running trails in Réserve Naturelle Du Pourra - Domaine Du Ranquet

U-turn in the oppidum because it is surrounded by fence then impassable path in the descent above the Etang du Pourra, charred trees and many branches on the way... So some parts to avoid especially in VAE ...

A magnificent chapel and a high place of local archeology to visit which also offers magnificent views of the surrounding ponds and the town of Istres! Unavoidable !

Around the archaeological site of Saint Blaise are several hundred rock tombs dating back to the 5th century.

The oppidum of Saint-Blaise is one of the region's most important archaeological sites. Here the traces of human settlement reach back to the 5th millennium BC. Salt was traded on the Opidium in the 7th century. A very exciting destination! The oppidum can be visited free of charge from Tuesday to Sunday. From the 1st of June to the 30th of September the visit is limited due to forest fire danger. Whether the visit is approved can always be requested the day before. Information can be obtained from the Tourist Office of the Département on 0 811 20 13 13.

The oppidum of Saint-Blaise is a major archaeological site in the western Mediterranean, located in the town of Saint-Miter-les-Remparts, near Fos-sur-Mer, in the Bouches-du-Rhône. The site can be visited for free from Tuesday to Sunday. Established at the northern end of the Castillon plateau, near the sea, the Berre and Crau lakes, the Pourra, Citis, Lavalduc, d'Engrenier, Rassuen and Olivier ponds and the stomach, the oppidum is located in a majestic environment and one of the most steeped in history in all of Provence and which, with the salt drawn from these ponds, was probably the initial reason for its foundation. A Hellenistic wall reinforces the natural defenses - large vertical cliffs - offered by the site. The oldest traces of human occupation date back to the 5th millennium BC. AD . On this Celto-Ligurian oppidum, the Etruscans created a trading post in the 7th century and began trading in salt collected there. The city enjoyed great prosperity in Etruscan and Greek times. It then produced a quality salt. She was a competitor for Marseille for a while. The oppidum was inhabited until the 14th century. The last inhabitants left the old city in 1390, to settle in Saint-Miter. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oppidum_de_Saint-Blaise

To the south and east of the Hellenistic and Etruscan ramparts (600 BC) of the Oppidum of Saint-Blaise one can still discover nearly 300 tombs, scattered on the plateau of Castillon, in an environment of quarries and rutted roads . Sometimes grouped in small family complexes, the tombs were dug out of the rock, without a predefined orientation, and simply covered with flat stones. These are rectangular cavities, among which the many small pits indicate children's graves. Often multiple, burials contain deceased lying on the back, the arms along the body or folded on the thorax, the head often wedged in a cell. They do not contain furniture, according to the bare manner of the Christian rite. By their characteristic type and some objects, such as belt buckles, these tombs are mostly related to the Visigothic period (5th - 6th century AD). https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oppidum_de_Saint-Blaise#La_n.C3.A9cropole_rupestre

The oppidum of Saint-Blaise is a major archaeological site in the western Mediterranean, located in the town of Saint-Miter-les-Remparts, near Fos-sur-Mer, in the Bouches-du-Rhone. The site has been classified as a historic monument since September 16, 1943. Located at the northern end of the Castillon plateau, near the sea, the pond of Berre and the Crau, the ponds of Pourra, Citis, Lavalduc, Engrenier, Rassuen, Olivier and the Stomach, the oppidum is located in a majestic environment and most loaded with history of all Provence and which, with the salt taken from these ponds, was probably the initial reason for its foundation. A Hellenistic enclosure reinforces the natural defenses - important vertical cliffs - offered by the site. The oldest traces of human occupation date back to the 5th millennium BC. AD . On this Celtic-Ligurian oppidum, the Etruscans created a trading post in the seventh century and undertook the salt trade collected on the spot. The city enjoyed great prosperity in Etruscan and Greek times. She was producing quality salt. She was for a moment the competitor of Marseille. The oppidum was inhabited until the fourteenth century. The last inhabitants left the old city in 1390, to settle in Saint-Miter. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oppidum_de_Saint-Blaise