Abstract
The Planet site (Fayet, Aveyron) occupies the side of a small valley with a lot of woodland in the South Aveyron. It was identified in 2015 thanks to the discovery of a statue-menhir (Tauriac group). A survey located 25 m from the stele, in a slightly elevated area, revealed archaeological horizons preserved under powerful colluvial deposits. The site has proved to be very complex during the planned excavations that have followed to date. A thick stratigraphy, over more than 3 m of sediment, has thus produced a series of about thirty occupations chanting the final Neolithic (group of Treilles, with dates between 2850 and 2580 years for an average horizon). It includes many outdoor habitat structures (maintenance holes, segmented structure, circular stone construction, heated stone fireplaces, dumps, pits, floors, etc.) that contrast with a relative "poverty" of material for a habitat of this importance. Remains of architectural devices and earthen structures, and for old horizons two pebble wall constructions, however, indicate repeated frequentation for several centuries. But the greatest interest of the site lies in a set of metallurgical treatment facilities, in an exceptional state of conservation (pyrometallurgical furnaces, waste pits, slags...). Several types of ore were processed tetrahedral malachite and bournonite (lead, copper and silver antimony ore). This old chalcolithic metallurgy exploiting copper ore from neighbouring mines (Cénomes, Bouche Payrol, Puech de Roste...) probably produced lead metal. This first presentation owes more than we can imagine to the lessons learned from the work carried out at Cabrières and to the exchanges or collaboration of the members of the team assembled by Paul Ambert.