Samara park

Samara park is an archaeological open-air museum and regional development project located in La Chaussée-Tirancourt, Somme, in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Opened to the public in 1988, the 30-hectare site recreates ancient civilization and habitation based on local archaeology, spanning from the Paleolithic to the Gallo-Roman period. The park combines reconstructed prehistoric and historic dwellings with botanical collections, nature trails, and live demonstrations of ancient crafts and technologies. It is owned by the Conseil départemental de la Somme and holds the designation of Jardin Remarquable, awarded in 2000.

The Samara project was initiated by the Conseil départemental de la Somme, inspired by the Archéodrome de Beaune. In 1982, Bruno Lebel was commissioned to design the site, which involved developing the archaeological site of the oppidum of La Chaussée-Tirancourt, constructing an archaeological museum, and landscaping the park with an arboretum and vegetal labyrinth. Aerial archaeological survey was employed to explore the site, revealing traces of past occupation through variations in crop color and height under specific microclimatic conditions. Bruno Lebel became director of the domaine de Samara in 1994. The park opened to the public in 1988.

The park's holdings encompass both archaeological reconstructions and living collections. The archaeological component presents a chronological journey of 600,000 years, from the Neolithic to the Gallo-Roman period, with scientifically grounded reconstructions of dwellings from the Neolithic, Bronze Age, and Iron Age. The botanical collections include an arboretum with 100 varieties of trees, a botanical garden with approximately 500 to 600 flowering plant varieties, an ethnobotanical garden representing Neolithic cultivation, and a nature trail. The site also features a marsh extending from the arboretum and themed walks, including one through a marsh area illustrating peat cutting from previous centuries.

Key features of the park include the reconstructed habitats: a Magdalenian tent, Neolithic houses, and structures from the Bronze and Iron Ages. The permanent exhibitions present prehistoric scenes from 600,000 BCE to 50 CE through reconstructed sets and objects, exploring human history, environmental evolution, lifestyle, and acquired techniques. Eight interactive rooms provide insights into archaeology through parameters such as climate and migration. The park also includes demonstrations and workshops led by cultural mediators and artisans covering flint knapping, pottery, weaving, basketry, and the working of stone, wood, bronze, and iron. Mosaic making is also featured.

The park is situated at the place known as Camp César, on the north slope of the Somme valley, at the foot of the former Gallic oppidum of La Chaussée-Tirancourt, dating to 50 CE. The oppidum site forms a spur of the chalk plateau of approximately 35 hectares, between the Somme valley and the Acon valley, fortified by the fossé Sarrazin. The site straddles departmental road D191. The exhibition pavilion, named the Pavillon des expositions Bruno Lebel, features an architecture of domes representing the symbolic plan of a human body, comprising 25 domes based on the principle of habitable sculpture construction systems. The 1,200-square-meter dome hosts exhibitions and reconstructed scenes of life from various prehistoric and Gallo-Roman periods. Below the slope, on alluvial terraces that yielded one of the most important Mesolithic sites in northern France during park development, the arboretum and plant collections are installed, including a vegetal labyrinth inspired by the labyrinth of Amiens Cathedral.

Samara park is located about fifteen kilometers west of Amiens in the department of Somme, Hauts-de-France. The site is open daily during the warmer months, and an admission fee is visitors. The park is accessible to the public and includes a restaurant and shop. It is owned by the Conseil départemental de la Somme. The name Samara derives from the Gallic name for the river Somme, which flows near the park.