Archaeological investigation of
rock shelters has proved that the site of Saint-Chamas was already occupied in the
Paleolithic era. During the
Iron Age, the site was used by the
Ligures, who constructed an
oppidum (a fortified village), and then by the
Celts. The
Romans built the
Pont Flavien in the 1st century BC, a
triumphal bridge which crosses the
River Touloubre. Saint-Chamas owes its name to Sanctus Amantius (
Saint Amans, by tradition the first
bishop of Rodez), in whose honour a chapel was built in the 7th century. The settlement was initially constructed on the
Baou, a chalk hill which overlooks the Étang de Berre, a site that was easy to defend and from which the surrounding region could be surveyed. In 1564, the castle was sufficiently comfortable to accommodate the king
Charles IX and the regent
Catherine de' Medici. The 17th century saw the construction of the modern town. The old village on the
Baou, now felt to be too cramped, was abandoned as soon as the new quarters of
Perthuis and
au Delà were built. A town hall was erected and the port laid out. The parish church of Saint-Léger was built between 1660 and 1668, but the
bell tower was not finished until 1740. The church now contains the Saint-Anne
reredos which dates from the sixteenth century. In 1690, construction was initiated by
Louis XIV on the royal
black powder mill,
La Poudrerie; this remained for a long time the town's principal industry until it shut down in 1974. For several years during the
French Revolution the town was renamed
Port-Chamas. The two main quarters, one of which developed around the town hall, the other in proximity to the port, were linked by a tunnel called
la Goule which collapsed in 1863. Today Saint-Chamas has become a residential and tourist town which has preserved its heritage and its appearance of a Provençal village. ==See also==