Editing Bayonne (section)

===Prehistory===
In the absence of accurate objective data there is some credence to the probable existence of a fishing village on the site in a period prior to [[ancient times]]. Numerous traces of human occupation have been found in the Bayonne region from the [[Middle Paleolithic]] especially in the discoveries at [[Saint-Pierre-d'Irube]], a neighbouring locality.<ref group="Note">Neanderthal Stone tools (from 80,000 to 45,000 BC corresponding to the [[Mousterian]] period, the [[Riss Glaciations]], and [[Würm II]])</ref> On the other hand, the presence of a mound about {{convert|14|m|ft|abbr=off}} high has been detected in the current Cathedral Quarter overlooking the Nive, which formed a natural protection and a usable port on the left bank of the Nive. At the time, the mound was surrounded north and west by the Adour swamps. At its foot lies the famous "Bayonne Sea"—the junction of the two rivers—which may have been about {{convert|1200|m|ft|abbr=off}} wide between Saint-Esprit and the Grand Bayonne and totally covered the current location of Bourg-Neuf (in the district of Petit Bayonne). To the south, the last bend of the Nive widens near the Saint-Léon hills.<ref>Association Lauburu, ''The Cathedral in the heart of the city'', 1992 {{in lang|fr}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">Eugène Goyheneche, ''Bayonne and the Bayonnaise Region from the 12th to the 15th century'', Thesis by the E.N.C., 1949 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> Despite this, the narrowing of the Adour valley allows easier crossing than anywhere else along the entire length of the estuary.<ref>Pierre Laborde. ''History of Bayonne'', 1991 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref>

In conclusion, the strategic importance of this height was so obvious it must be presumed that it has always been inhabited.<ref name="ReferenceA" />