The functional and symbolic uses of space in western Mediterranean protohistory: the Pech Maho example (Sigean, western Languedoc, France)

The aim of this paper is to put forward a reinterpretation of several complex domestic units at the Iberian oppidum of Pech Maho (Sigean, western Languedoc, France), dating from the sixth to the third centuries BC. A complementary study of the features and artefacts included in each house leads to the characterization of spaces, the contextualization of activities and the construction of identities within the domestic areas, as well as their diachronic evolution. The long life of the site meant that several of the houses were rebuilt and their concept and use rethought. In many cases, the apparent incoherency between the features and the artefacts can be interpreted as a reflection of these changes. In the final period of the settlement, a drastic change in the use of certain buildings hints at the complete dissolution of several domestic units, before their final destruction by a fire in the context of the Roman conquest