Die 4.92

Die is a commune, former episcopal see, and subprefecture of the Drôme department in southeastern France. The region around Die is known as the Diois.Die is best known for the Clairette de Die, a sparkling wine. It was a county in the High Middle Ages. It was once the see of a Roman Catholic diocese and its cathedral remains.GeographyDie is situated in a valley, surrounded by the Glandasse mountain (6696 feet), a massive and steep rocky barrier, which separates the area (Pays Diois) from the Vercors Plateau. The territory of the commune of Die is part of the regional natural park of these regions.HistoryClearly, there were inhabitants during the Neolithic age, this has been confirmed by Chanqueyras excavations. A big engraved standing stone and two small menhirs that are now in the Die museum were found near the wine cooperative, (these) also proved inhabitation in this area at that time. The remains of the final Bronze Age were discovered at La Roche De Marginal, for example, some shards have been found at Chandillon. A first agglomeration seems to have appeared at the beginning of the Roman era, on a little mountain pass overhanging the Drôme, and the small valley of Meyrosse, at the crossroad between the valley and the path to Trièves. Lots of clues show the extension of urbanisation during the 1st century. At the beginning of the 2nd century, the city of Die constructs monuments and becomes a Roman capital, replacing Luc-en-Diois in that function for the Celtic people of northern Voconces. It seems it will be named as a colony towards the end of the 2nd century or during the 3rd century because the town became an important centre of fertility goddess Cybele’s cult.