Editing Toulon (section)

===Prehistory to the Roman era===
[[File:Toulon Cathedral Exterior.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Toulon Cathedral (11th to 18th centuries)]]
Archaeological excavations, such as those at the [[Cosquer Cave]] near [[Marseille]], show that the coast of [[Provence]] was inhabited since at least the [[Paleolithic]] era. [[Greeks|Greek]] colonists came from [[Phocaea]], [[Asia Minor]], in about the 7th century BC and established trading depots along the coast, including one, called Olbia, at Saint-Pierre de l'Almanarre south of [[Hyères]], to the east of Toulon. The [[Ligures|Ligurians]] settled in the area beginning in the 4th century BC.<ref>Aldo Bastié, Historie de la Provence, Éditions Ouest-France, 2001.</ref>

In the 2nd century BC, the residents of Massalia (present-day [[Marseille]]) called upon the [[Ancient Romans|Romans]] to help them pacify the region. The Romans defeated the Ligurians and began to start their own colonies along the coast.{{cn|date=November 2023}} A Roman settlement was founded at the present location of Toulon, with the name Telo Martius – Telo, either for the local god of springs [[Telo (mythology)|Telo]] or from the Latin ''tol'', the base of the hill – and [[Mars (mythology)|Martius]], for the god of war. Telo Martius became one of the two principal Roman [[dye]] manufacturing centres, producing the purple colour used in imperial robes, made from the local sea snail called [[murex]], and from the acorns of the oak trees. Toulon harbour became a shelter for trading ships, and the name of the town gradually changed from Telo to Tholon, Tolon, and Toulon.{{cn|date=November 2023}}