Archaeologists have unearthed the remains of vineyards beneath the streets of Marseille, once the ancient Greek city of Massalia (Greek: Μασσαλία), offering rare insight into how early Greek settlers brought Mediterranean farming and winemaking to France more than 2,000 years ago.
The excavation, led by France’s National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap), took place near Boulevard de Vintimille and Cazemajou in the city’s 15th arrondissement.
The site lies just south of a 2023 dig and forms part of the chôra massaliète—the rural territory that supplied the Greek colony of Massalia, founded by Greeks of Phocaea around 600 BCE.
Located about two kilometers (1.2 miles) from the fortified city, the area once sustained farms and vineyards that supported one of the earliest Greek communities in Western Europe.
Excavation under challenging conditions
The dig was conducted in a former industrial zone contaminated by pollutants, requiring careful decontamination before excavation. Archaeologists supervised mechanical digging to a depth of 1.5 meters (5 feet) to remove polluted soil while preserving archaeological remains.
Using a grid system and laboratory analyses, they measured contamination at different depths and divided the land into sections. Each batch of earth was then treated at specialized decontamination centers.
Despite these constraints, the 1,300-square-meter (14,000-square-foot) excavation revealed the remains of an ancient hillside vineyard and evidence of organized agriculture dating from the 5th to 2nd centuries BCE.
A glimpse of Greek viticulture
In antiquity, the site extended along the western slope of a small coastal hill less than 250 meters (820 feet) from the sea. Archaeologists identified three successive vineyards cultivated over four centuries, offering a direct view of Greek rural planning.
The earliest, from the 5th–4th centuries BCE, had neatly arranged square pits in parallel northeast–southwest rows. The second, from the 3rd–2nd centuries BCE, featured continuous rows more than five meters (16 feet) long. The third, in the southern zone, shifted to a northwest–southeast layout, with trenches stretching nearly 19 meters (62 feet).
The precision of these alignments mirrors vineyard structures found in other Greek colonies across the Mediterranean, reflecting a shared agricultural tradition adapted to Marseille’s coastal terrain.
Advanced techniques from the Greek world
Analysis of the planting pits revealed two primary methods: square alveus pits—described centuries later by Pliny the Elder—and continuous trenches known as sulci. Imprints of roots and wooden stakes showed how the vines were supported, while perpendicular pits indicated provignage, a layering technique used to renew plants.
Two circular silos, each about one meter (3 feet) deep, suggest that local farmers practiced polyculture, combining vine growing with cereal crops, a method widely used in the ancient Greek world.
At the northern edge, an east–west channel cut into the bedrock, bordered by a stone wall of limestone and pebbles, points to early water management strategies. The structure contained sediment and runoff, showing how Greek colonists adapted hydraulic engineering to maintain fertile soil.
Linking Massalia to the wider Greek network
From the 5th to the 2nd centuries BCE, Massalia thrived as a maritime and trading hub, connecting Greece, southern Gaul, and the western Mediterranean. Yet until recently, little was known about how its surrounding lands were organized.
The two recent Inrap excavations—covering a combined 2,200 square meters (24,000 square feet)—now provide the first detailed look at its northern countryside.
The discoveries confirm that viticulture was central to the colony’s economy. Wine produced around Massalia was exported across southern Gaul, reaching Celtic communities through established Greek trade routes. The frequent discovery of Marseille amphorae on protohistoric sites throughout the region attests to the scale of this commerce.
These vineyards stand as physical evidence of how Greek settlers transformed the landscapes of early France, introducing new agricultural techniques, irrigation systems, and economic networks that would later influence Roman and European viticulture for centuries.
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