# In search of dry stone buildings in the Pyrenees

Benoit Pace, Mélanie Le Couédic, Patricia Heiniger-Casteret, Alain
Champagne

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## To cite this version:

Benoit Pace, Mélanie Le Couédic, Patricia Heiniger-Casteret, Alain Champagne. In search of dry stone buildings in the Pyrenees. European association archaeologists. Mountain Pastoralism Through Time: Archaeological Insights and Contemporary Connections, Sep 2025, Distanciel, France. hal-05250521

HAL Id: hal-05250521

https://univ-pau.hal.science/hal-05250521v1

Submitted on 11 Sep 2025

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Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
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Petra

Interreg
POCTEFA

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Cofinanciado por
la UNIÓN EUROPEA

Cofinancé par
l'UNION EUROPÉENNE

# In search of dry stone buildings in the Pyrenees

Benoit Pace<sup>(1)</sup>, Mélanie Le Couédic<sup>(2)</sup>, Patricia Heiniger-Casteret<sup>(3)</sup> and Alain Champagne<sup>(4)</sup>

(1) Postdoctoral researcher UPPA - ITEM (UR 3002) - IRAA-CNRS (UAR 3155)

(2) Research Engineer - UPPA - ITEM (UR 3002)

(3 and 4) Associate Professors - UPPA - ITEM (UR 3002)

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## Main partners

1. Communauté de Travail des Pyrénées (chef de file) (CTP)

2. Institut per al Desenvolupament y la Promoció de l'Alt Pirineu i Aran (IDAPA)

3. Parc naturel régional des Pyrénées Ariégeoises (PNPA)

4. Par naturel régional des Pyrénées Catalanes (PNPC)

5. Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour (UPPA)

6. Comarca de Sobrabe

7. Universitat de Lleida (UdL)

8. Govern d'Andorra

## Associate partners

9. Consell Insular de Mallorca

10. Direcció General de Cultura Popular i Associacionisme Cultural de Catalunya

11. Parc Natural de l'Alt Pirineu

12. Eusko Jaurlaritza

13. Dirección General de Cultura-Institución Príncipe de Viana (Gobierno de Navarra)

## A collaborative project across the Pyrenees

Dry stone construction has long been one of the defining features of the cultural heritage of the Pyrenees, shaping our environment since prehistoric times. Hundreds of kilometers of walls, paths, huts, and other structures dot the mountain landscape, thanks to centuries-old techniques that have structured the pastoral landscape. Recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since 2018, these structures have been used for centuries to support agriculture and livestock farming. Despite this recognition, this heritage remains fragile and is slowly disappearing and being forgotten in our regions due to a lack of awareness and a loss of techniques and practices.

The POCTEFA PETRA project therefore aims to promote this cultural heritage through research and documentation, mapping and geolocation of these structures, most of which remain unrecorded in the western Pyrenees. The project aims to improve the visibility and sustainability of dry stone constructions, while capitalizing on local practices and regional specificities. It contributes both to the preservation of this ancestral technique linked to pastoralism and to its use as a tourist and cultural resource.

## Funding

The Petra project is co-financed by the European Union at a rate of 65% through the Interreg VI-A Spain-France-Andorra program (POCTEFA 2021-2027). The objective of POCTEFA is to strengthen economic and social integration in the Spain-France-Andorra border area.

## Focus on the emblematic sites

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> "Significantly represents the identity, history, culture, or values of a place, community, or time. An emblematic heritage site — or area — is often recognized for its symbolic importance, historical impact, or representative role in the collective memory."

Several partners currently benefit from collaborative inventories (digitized or not), such as **"Wikipedra"** (Catalonia, Pyr. Orientales and Ariège) or **"Primera Pedra"** (Andorra), which list a significant number of dry stone constructions in their territory. Although it is very difficult today to distinguish between archaeological sites and heritage sites, PETRA project researchers have developed selection criteria that make it possible to highlight the most representative sites in the different Pyrenean areas on a WebGIS (**ArcGIS Online** - work in progress). Around **20 sites have been identified**. These have been characterized using relevant descriptors that highlight their heritage importance and, where possible, their archaeological potential. The aim is to showcase the diversity of dry stone constructions in order to raise public awareness and disseminate this knowledge more widely.

## A new georeferenced inventory of dry stone structures

The pooling of information revealed significant disparities between the inventories compiled in the eastern and western Pyrenees. The French and Spanish western Pyrenees suffer from a lack of visibility on the subject of dry stone, and currently have no updated public digital inventory. A long inventory process began in April/May 2025. We have **started to compile paper inventories compiled since the late 1960s on the Pyrenees National Park (PNP)**, with the aim of georeferencing all data on a GIS and, above all, harmonizing the typology of structures. Where possible, we are also adding value through a more scientific and archaeological approach. This data will be published on WebGIS (ArcGIS Online) as a freely accessible individual layer by fall 2026.

In parallel with this inventory work, we have relaunched, on the initiative of Mélanie Le Couédic, a **new campaign of archaeological surveys of pastoral summer pastures in the Basque Country** in order to discover new, previously unknown sites. **An anthropological approach** will be taken in the coming months, through a series of oral surveys of local farmers to better understand their **current relationship with dry stone structures**.

<figure><img src="image_7.png" /><figcaption>Cabanes de « La Glère »</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_8.png" /><figcaption>Grotte d'Harpea</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_9.png" /><figcaption>Complexe pastoral de Liantran</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_10.png" /><figcaption>Parcellaire de Buzy-Bescat</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_11.png" /><figcaption>Abris sous roche de la Toue du Lac de Hourat</figcaption></figure>

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CTP

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IDAPA

Institut d'Études Écologiques et Socio-économiques de l'Ariège
Fondé en 1967, le PNP a pris la suite d'actions de l'Office de l'Écologie et de l'Aménagement du PNP de l'Ariège

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Parc naturel régional des Pyrénées catalanes
Parc de la Plana catalana

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UNIVERSITÉ
DE Pau et du Cône

PAYS DE LACOUD

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Generalitat
de Catalunya

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Observatori del Fonsgege

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EUROPEA
UNION EUROPEA
GOBIERNO VASCO

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HAUTBÉARN

communauté de communes

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Generitat de Catalunya
Agència Catalana de Turisme

HAUTBÉARN

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Govern
d'Andorra

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Pyrénées
Antigues

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SOBRARBE

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Universitat
de Lleida

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Govern
d'Andorra

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CIRDOC

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Gobierno de Navarra
Nafarroako Gobernua

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Parc Natural
de l'Alt Pirineu

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Consell de
Mallorca