The Sainte-Baume forest is imbued with a sacred character described as early as the 1st century by the poet Lucain who saw it as a sacred wood never profaned occupied by the sanctuaries of the Gods. Preserved from ancient times and then by the Christian religious authorities and the Kings of France, it benefited until the French Revolution from bans on cutting which allowed it to cross the ages almost intact. Entrusted to the Waters and Forests administration in 1838, it was listed as a Managed Biological Reserve in 1973, then as a Forest of Exception for its biodiversity and its religious and cultural heritage. Widely visited by pilgrims on their way to the Sainte Marie-Madeleine cave, the Sainte-Baume forest still houses several oratories and is today one of the last sacred forests in France.