In this work stemm ing from her doctoral thesis, Anne Colin establishes a chronologiesl framework for fortifiée! and open settlements at the end of the Iron Age, in order to further our understanding of the pre-urbanisation phenomena that affected the Celtic world of this period. Examining ancientand recent documentation on some thirty sites and using a statistical sériés method applied to Gallic and imported furnishings, Anne Colin défi nés five phases which she then compares to existing régional chronologies. She analyses the diversity observed in régional trends, diversity due to differing political and économie circumstances, and also to the comptex rôle played by contacts with the Mediterranean sphere, throughout a large part of Caul. The study volume is completed by a site catalogue that includes unpublished data and bibliographical references.