STONES FOR LIVING AND LIVING STONES: NEW APPROACH TO THE STUDY OF STONE EXPLOITATION IN AUVERGNE
Channel: European Association of Archaeologists
Date: 26/10/2020

Auvergne is a mountainous region, characterised by a succession of high mountains, big flat plateaus and large valleys. In this volcanic landscape (the last volcanoes were still in activity during the Neolithic) the geological context, formed by numerous lava flows and debris avalanches shows a great complexity. This complexity is still highly visible in the panorama where hard rocks contrasts with other stones more proper for exploitation. In this frame, the dynamics of exploitation of geological resources is a central element in the comprehension of the progressive landscape appropriation by ancient human communities. Across the centuries, the Auvergne landscape has been strongly marked by human action and it is hard to find a parcel blank of archaeological records. The medieval period (IX-XV century) is characterized by settlements located on rocky peaks and plateau slopes. The particularity of those sites is that most of them are made up of two parts: a rock-cut settlement and a village constructed on a series of terraces. Two sites that shows the interaction of rock-cut cavities and terraced villages will be presented and compared: the village of Boissieres (Murol, Puy-de-Dôme) and the castle of Chateauneuf (Saint Nectaire, Puy-de-Dôme). The analysis of this type of settlements with new investigation techniques such as photogrammetry and virtual reality brings new elements in the comprehension of human occupation and stone exploitation in Auvergne during the medieval period.


Author(s): Cocoual, Antoine (W3D’s) - Mallard, Constance (Laboratory LAHM, University of Rennes 2)