Exposition "PaysÂges, restituer l'évolution des paysages"

The Estérel Côte d'Azur Agglomération (ECAA) territory encompasses a wide variety of landscapes, including over 50 km of coastline, the plain and mouth of the Argens, and the Maures and Estérel mountain ranges. This territory has witnessed significant landscape changes that can be analyzed on two timescales: geological time and human history. The first, spanning hundreds of millions of years, is revealed through the study of rocks and the fossils they contain. The second, which covers a much shorter period of time, can be seen in the layers of sediment and through the archaeological traces and remains left by human communities. Recently, archaeologists and paleoenvironmental specialists have established the link between man and the evolution of landscapes in the lower Argens valley since the Neolithic period, thus showing that local populations have been both witnesses and actors of landscape evolution for more than 7000 years.
This exhibition, combining explanatory panels and presentation of rocks, fossils and archaeological objects, highlights the
main aspects of the evolution of local landscapes and the associated scientific approach. Thanks to this immersion in
sedimentary, historical and archaeological archives, past environments are restored and commented on
of the general public.
As part of the management of aquatic environments and flood prevention (GEMAPI), the actions carried out by
The ECAA involves significant fieldwork. These projects also provide an opportunity to examine the "soil archives", while taking into account the law on preventive archaeology, which aims to scientifically document a site before the launch of
works. In order to concretize this active collaboration since 2020, an agreement between the City of Fréjus and the ECAA was
established. The projects carried out on the sites of Palud, Aspé, Vaulongue and Reydissart are an illustration of this.
Today, the city of Fréjus stands out for its ability to conduct preventive archaeology operations and promote this heritage to the public. Accredited since 2003 by the Ministries of Culture and Research, Fréjus' archaeologists protect and study historical and archaeological heritage. Their work includes research and conservation,
offering an in-depth understanding of the region's heritage. Recent operations around Fréjus, in connection with the evolution of local environments, demonstrate the importance of this know-how and its transmission through the generations.