Attempts to stop the spread of the Great Plague include an Act of the Parlement of Aix that levies the death penalty for any communication between Marseille and the rest of Provence.

To enforce this separation, a plague wall, the Mur de la Peste, is erected across the countryside.

The wall is built of dry stone, two meters high and seventy centimeters thick, with guard posts set back from the wall.

Remains of the wall can still be seen in different parts of the Plateau de Vaucluse.