Astronomy, Illumination and Heritage: the Arles-Fontvieille megalithic monuments and their implications for archaeoastronomy and world heritage

The Arles-Fontvieille monuments, or hypogées, have long had a special place in megalithic studies. Their unique architecture, blending ``Atlantic'' megalithic construction with subterranean rock-cut architecture more commonly found in the Mediterranean, and their size, especially that of the Grotte de Cordes, place them among the most important monuments in France and Europe (Daniel 1960, Guilaine 1998, Sauzade 1999, Hoskin 2001, Saletta 2014). My discovery and interpretation of seasonal light and shadow hierophanies (Saletta 2011, 2014)) within the Arles-Fontvieille monuments has important implications for identifying astronomically related Outstanding Universal Value for late prehistoric European monuments.