Symbolic traces
If there's one area that deserves to be better known in Martinique, it's its national forest, an inalienable part of the public domain. As elsewhere in France, it is owned by the State and managed by the Office National des Forêts (ONF).
Unlike the Vatable forest, which is on the seafront at Trois-Ilets, the Montravail forest is a managed forest. It is located in the south of Martinique, on the heights of the town of Sainte-Luce, and covers an area of over 70 hectares. One of the local curiosities is a group of engraved rocks known as petroglyphs. According to the Larousse dictionary, this word comes from the ancient Greek petros, "stone", and gluphḗ,"engraving". Some believe it may be a Native American burial ground. These are polished volcanic rocks, full of seemingly infantile drawings that have survived the passage of time, atmospheric vicissitudes and the mosses and lichens that conceal them, to reach us and make the past speak. There are also bowl-shaped rocks that may have been used to grind grain or collect blood for possible sacrifices. The site has been listed as a Monument Historique, and several archaeologists are currently studying it.
The other sites
In addition to the Montravail site in Sainte-Luce, in the commune of Macouba, in the north of Martinique, where Father Labat stayed, there is the rock known as the Roche à Bondié. No one knows if it was used for sacrifices, but the local population, who fiercely believe in it, believe it to be a representation of the Last Supper, engraved in stone: the table of the twelve apostles. It is located in Terre-Patates, near the commune's school complex, not far from the River that runs through the area. It's a rock made of cupules with 12 holes placed around a bowl. This is a "cupstone", also known as a "bowlstone", which archaeologists consider to be a large polisher.
Two other pre-Columbian rock art sites have been identified on the island.
The Châteaubœuf rock, discovered very recently in Fort-de-France, and the engraved rocks discovered in 1992 in the Galion mangrove in Trinité. According to Nathalie Vidal, in "La Trinité - Pétroglyphes du Galion" [notice archéologique], ADLFI. Archéologie de la France - Informations, "This is a pre-Columbian site consisting of a group of large volcanic boulders surrounding two large engraved blocks. There are no ceramic shards. The first large block features engravings whose main motif represents a circle to which are attached several straight lines in the shape of sunbeams. Another circle, dotted with various small cupules, is linked by a vertical line. This rock overlooks the mangrove swamp by a few metres. Below, other unengraved boulders line the mangrove.
The second boulder, this time bordering the mangrove, is inserted into a whole group of boulders 50 m further on. The shallow, faint engravings, undoubtedly due to erosion of the rock, depict stylized faces that can be compared to representations of Sainte-Luce." The swampy forest where this site is located is currently crossed by the RD3.
