On the northern part of the current village, the archaeological place called Grottes de Calès features prehistoric dwelling sites. They were inhabited until the 16th century. Originally, it was an oppidum with roads connecting different villages. In the second half of the Iron Age (7th to 6th centuries BC), the population starts to settle down and to build the "castrum", with streets and buildings. The increasing commerce in Méditerranée reaches the Alpilles where they trade cereals for luxury goods. In the following centuries, the population in the Alpilles decreased drastically because of the growing attraction of the Arles trading post. At the end of the Iron Age (2nd or 1st centuries BC), many sites were repopulated.