A territory of garrigue and prehistory
Argelliers extends over 50.6 square kilometres, for 1,002 inhabitants. The territory, largely covered with garrigue, delivered one of the most dense prehistoric sets in the region : nine dolmens recorded, including those of Boscorre, the Combe du Rat, the Signal de Puechabon, the Tourelle, the Mas de Cournon, the Lake Rouge, Mas Andrieu and the Pouzet, as well as a prehistoric enclosure, that of Boussargues.
Thirty-two minutes to the gorges of the Hérault
From Saint-Jean-de-Védas, the road measures 27.8 kilometers and runs in 32 minutes. Argelliers opens the gate to the gorges of l'Hérault, a protected site and Natura 2000 of 21,736 hectares where a limestone massif, left untouched by large infrastructures, houses forests of Salzmann pines and well-preserved scrubland habitats.
Pamplona Roc's oppidum
The archaeological site of Roc de Pamplona completes the prehistoric enclosure of Boussargues as evidence of a very ancient human occupation of the territory. A view of the Pic Saint-Loup, accessible from the village, allows you to measure this landscape of garrigue and causse, at the edge of the gorges of l'Hérault.
The village's listed chapel and church
The chapel of Argelliers, whose remains were classified as historical monuments in 1978, and the church of Saint-Étienne, classified in 1984, form the religious heritage of the village. The commune is also affected by the Natura 2000 site of the high garrigues of Montpellierais, 45,444 hectares that house three pairs of Bonelli eagles.
A name from clay
The toponym Argelliers, attested since 1154 in the form Argeleris, is close to the word occitan argyla, which refers to clay, and means clayy terrain. The presence of clay on the territory, formerly used for pottery, probably influenced the birth of this toponym, which some ancient dictionaries spelled with two L. The Occitan writer Max Rouquette is buried in the village cemetery, and the Figuières mill completes the built heritage of the municipality, alongside the Tranquille Garden, a walking space.
A service economy and a causation of reliefs
88 establishments are located in Argelliers, 20 of which are in specialized scientific and technical activities, or 22.7% of the total, compared with 17.1% at the departmental level. Ten farms had their headquarters in the municipality in 2020, compared with 22 in 1988, on a used agricultural area of 254 hectares, slightly higher than the 228 hectares of 1988. Puech and Lavogne de Pailhas mark the relief of the commune, a causse carved of valleys that extends the gorges of the Hérault. The gorges of the Hérault with the wood of Fontanilles cover 1,805 hectares in four communes of the department, and the dolomitic woods of the Matletettes 243 hectares in two communes : two natural areas of ecological interest that complement the classified site. The massif of the gorges of the Hérault and the Buège extends over 21,342 hectares and 17 communes, proof of the extent of this protected territory far beyond the limits of the Argelliers.
For whom this base makes sense
- A day-long hike along the tracks of the dolmens and the poppidum, before going down to the tram and downtown Saint-Jean-de-Védas.
- A desire for gorges and causse, 32 minutes from the accommodation, to change the landscape completely.
- A stay of several days to explore, in turn, Argelliers and the neighbouring villages of Matelles and Cazevieille, from the studio or the duplex.
- A curiosity for prehistory and geology, on a territory whose very name comes from clay that shapes its basement.
