On the occasion of new excavations on the late Iron Age oppidum of Villeneuve-Saint-Germain, as part of a project more specifically centred on the « cross » ditches, a history of archaeological research on the site since the 19th century is initially presented. This can be divided into three main periods, our current reseach possibly constituting the beginning of a fourth. The excavations undertaken between 1977 and 1982 partially revealed the nature of the ditches, giving rise to a number of interpretations and reconstructions that are recalled here and commented on. The ongoing research project addresses questions arising from previous work, as well as taking into acccount the new estimate of the surface area of the oppidum, 100 hectares. The main results of the new excavations are : discovery of a lining in the ditches, held in place by the vertical posts in the ditch sides ; confirmation of the presence of transverse partitions, at least at the ditch extremities ; demonstration that the ditch visible on aerial photographs in the north of the meander is indeed the extremity - at a distance of almost 900 m - of the ditch investigated in 1981. The consequences of these discoveries for the overall understanding of the site are briefly discussed. Lastly, comparisons previously suggested between these quite unusual ditches and features on other sites are re-examined in the light of the new results from the current excavations.

Traduction : Michael Ilett (michael.ilett@mae.u-paris10.fr)