The Forest of Halatte in Picardie

Picardie

Picardy is one of the 27 regions of France. It is located in the northern part of France.-History:The historical province of Picardy stretched from north of Noyon to Calais, via the whole of the Somme department and the north of the Aisne department...

 is one of the largest remaining blocks of natural old growth forest

Old growth forest

An old-growth forest is a forest that has attained great age , and thereby exhibits unique ecological features. An old growth forest has also usually reached a climax community...

 in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. Situated in the département of Oise

Oise

Oise is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise.-History:Oise is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...

 near Senlis

Senlis, Oise

Senlis is a French commune located in the Oise department near Paris. It has a long and rich heritage, having traversed centuries of history. This medieval town has welcomed some of the most renowned figures in French history, including Hugh Capet, Louis IX, the Marshall of France, Anne of Kiev and...

 and Pont-Sainte-Maxence

Pont-Sainte-Maxence

Pont-Sainte-Maxence is a town in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Oise....

, it currently embraces 43 square kilometers. Together with the Forest of Chantilly and the Forest of Ermenonville it forms the Massif des Trois Forêts. On the north it borders the Forest of Compiègne. The Forest of Halatte is still a source of oak

Oak

An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...

 and beech

Beech

Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...

 timber.

The forest, a fragment separated from the ancient Silva Cotia (forêt de Cuise) cited in the 6th century CE, which became the Forest of Compiègne, bears numerous traces of its prehistoric habitation, in the form of menhir

Menhir

A menhir is a large upright standing stone. Menhirs may be found singly as monoliths, or as part of a group of similar stones. Their size can vary considerably; but their shape is generally uneven and squared, often tapering towards the top...

s and dolmen

Dolmen

A dolmen—also known as a portal tomb, portal grave, dolmain , cromlech , anta , Hünengrab/Hünenbett , Adamra , Ispun , Hunebed , dös , goindol or quoit—is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of...

s and late Iron Age burials. In the commune of Ognon

Ognon, Oise

Ognon is a small village in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Oise....

 are the remains of a Gallo-Roman temple dedicated to a curative deity, built in the mid-1st century CE and abandoned during the 4th century. The temple's stones were then quarried for reuse, and the site became overgrown by the forest. the temple was discovered and excavated in 1873-74 and more professionally examined in 1996-99. The objects discovered over the course of the excavation, including coins, votive offering

Votive offering

A votive deposit or votive offering is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for broadly religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are generally made in order to gain favor with supernatural...

s, fibulae and other jewellery, are exhibited at the Art and Archeology museum of Senlis.

The inexplicable name Halatte first appears in a document of 1165, as Locus Halachius. A hunting accident in the Forest of Halatte claimed the life of King Philip IV of France

Philip IV of France

Philip the Fair was, as Philip IV, King of France from 1285 until his death. He was the husband of Joan I of Navarre, by virtue of which he was, as Philip I, King of Navarre and Count of Champagne from 1284 to 1305.-Youth:A member of the House of Capet, Philip was born at the Palace of...

, in November 1314. At a meeting at St-Christophe-en-Halatte, Edward III of England

Edward III of England

Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...

 made his last act of homage

Homage

Homage is a show or demonstration of respect or dedication to someone or something, sometimes by simple declaration but often by some more oblique reference, artistic or poetic....

 for Gascony

Gascony

Gascony is an area of southwest France that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution. The region is vaguely defined and the distinction between Guyenne and Gascony is unclear; sometimes they are considered to overlap, and sometimes Gascony is considered a...

, to Philip VI

Philip VI of France

Philip VI , known as the Fortunate and of Valois, was the King of France from 1328 to his death. He was also Count of Anjou, Maine, and Valois from 1325 to 1328...

, in April 1331. The forest was in part a royal domaine and otherwise divided among clerics and nobles. To this day, boundary markers carved with coats-of-arms mark the old divisions. At the French Revolution

French Revolution

The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

, the whole forest was declared domaniale, a national property.

An obelisk

Obelisk

An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...

 raised to commemorate the King of Rome, Napoleon's heir, stands in the forest, south of Pont-Sainte-Maxence.
The Forest of Halatte is traversed by a network of walking and bicycling trails maintained by the State.