The defensive possibilities of Les Baux led to the site being settled early
on in human history. Traces of habitation have been found dating back as far as
6000 BC, and the site was used by the Celts as a hill fort or
oppidum around the 2nd century BC.
During the Middle Ages it became the seat of a powerful feudal lordship that
controlled 79 towns and villages in the vicinity. The lords of Baux sought
control of Provence for many years. They claimed ancestry from the Magus king
Balthazar and placed the Star of Bethlehem on their coat of arms.
Despite their
