Page "Sierre" Paragraph 4

The area around the modern town, especially Gerunden hill, was settled very early.

Archeological sites on Gerunden hill have produced neolithic objects and grave goods ( including a polished stone ax ), Bronze Age weapons and jewelry, Early Iron Age objects and Roman era inscriptions, jars, jewelry and coins.

A soapstone pot from the Early Middle Ages and a gold signet ring with the name Graifarius from the 6th century have also been found.

Other sites on nearby hills and near the chapel of Saint-Ginier, the Château de Villa, the churches of Sainte-Croix, Grands-Prés, Muraz, Glarey and Bernunes have yielded up graves originating from the Bronze Age to the Carolingian era.

In Grands-Prés there is a fire pit from the beginning of the Late Iron Age ( 5th – 6th century BC ).