Dear friends of the Montautre site,
Already the thirteenth issue of the "Petit journal des amis de Montautre"! Thank you all for your feedback, comments, complements and encouragement: they motivate us to continue the adventure!
0. News
The month of September was marked by Montautre's second participation in the European Heritage Days. These guided tours, by Joel Leroy and myself, further aroused enthusiasm since we had nearly 300 requests for visits... of which only 80 could be satisfied. We therefore opened additional visits on October 15 and 16, which were sold out in less than 24 hours! We will try to satisfy the still pending list with several visiting weekends next spring.
But of course, this return marks the start of the rescue of the turret and the chapel! The first job was the dismantling of the subfloor and flooring on each floor of the turret. It was thus possible to set up scaffolding inside the tower so as to rest the framework on it (all the roofing slates had previously been removed): see the 3 photos below.
The next stage, which has just started, is the dismantling/reassembly of the masonry (photo below) to repair the damage without dismantling the tower, which will keep its original framework, but will find a roof cover made of Travassac slates.
This work is mainly on the part of the turret which collapsed at the end of the 20th century: the rest of the masonry which is original, with earth as the only mortar, is the subject of grouting (injection of lime in the gaps to replace the earth that has gulled) and repair broken lintels. This work was an opportunity to discover that the 2nd floor of the turret (which is no longer accessible today) had retained all of its original flooring (subfloor/clay floor/tiles). We therefore decided to keep all of them, to reassemble them later on the 1st floor, that of the sacristy of the chapel, because the original floor had been replaced there in the 18th century by a floor in very poor condition today.
This work is considerable, and it is in particular thanks to the donations of many of you to the Heritage Foundation that it has become possible. For those who wish to continue the support given in 2022 in 2023, we are providing you with the link: https://www.fondation-patrimoine.org/les-projets/lacaze-montautre-2021-fromental . In any case, a very, very big thank you to all of you, because I am confident that our objective of 20% of the amount of work covered by your donations will be reached, or even exceeded!
1. Gallo-Roman history
In the dynamic initiated by the DRAC (Fabien Loubignac), by Jean-Pierre Loustaud (Gallo-Roman specialist in Limousin) and by our two student archaeologists, Anne-Claire Leleu and Margaux Ranty, we had obtained a favorable (informal) opinion to start excavations on the presumed site of the temple of Mercury. It is of course necessary to obtain formal authorization: our file, currently being finalized, will be examined by the commission in January 2024. The surveys (first stage of the excavations) will therefore not start until next year, in the spring or at summer.
Ronan Le Gallo, direct descendant of the Mondin de Montautre family, rediscovered an article from the Courrier du Center (january 1897) written by his ancestor Georges Dufour de la Prugne: it confirms the existence of a important Gallo-Roman site and the presence of numerous remains (including ledge tiles, not found to date). The indicated location of the site is at the place planned for the excavations: " before occupying today's location where it has been since the Middle Ages, Montautre rose, immediately after the Gallo-Roman period , about 200 meters away, on the highest point of the place today planted as a park "(this is the Montautre arboretum planted in the 19th century, with in particular a giant sequoia exactly in the middle of the - supposed - fanum Roman).
We also discover the hypothesis of a Latin origin of the name of Montautre, " Mons Auster " (the austere mountain), which comes as an alternative to another hypothesis mentioned elsewhere, " Montem Alterum " (the other mountain). The toponymic investigation is therefore relaunched!
2. Medieval era
The rest of the same article discusses the medieval period, before and during the Hundred Years' War. In particular, there is mention of an old castle which was allegedly burned by the English. Could this be one of the many abuses of the troops associated with the 2nd ride of the Black Prince ? The latter, Edward, son of the King of England, Prince of Wales and governor of Guyenne in Bordeaux, indeed passed through our region of Basse Marche during his return to Poitiers in August 1356...
Still, one of our B&B residents, Renato Mancia, seduced by the history of the place and its development, offered the castle an incredible gift from his personal collection: an authentic silver coin. of Prince Edward, the black prince, struck in ancient Aquitaine, and in excellent condition.
3. Contemporary period
And to complete this series of donations from the “friends of Montautre”, we also warmly thank Marie-Claude Alessandrini, from the neighboring town of Fursac. Having seen the poor state of our "palissous" in the medieval bakery, she wanted to offer us one of hers (see photo below). These baskets are made of rye straw in horizontal braids (light color) linked vertically by strips of bramble (dark color). They were used to let the bread dough rise, placed in a cloth, before being put in the oven for cooking. She also gave us her hemp grinder and her carding comb (second photo below): the museum is enriched!
As you understand, it is all of you, friends of Montautre, who bring to life and enrich the history of this place through your contributions of all kinds: be thanked more than ever, and be assured of being welcome to Montautre when you pass nearby. Let us know, or to Kitty and Adri who continue to maintain this site that we love so much.
And that's it for our thirteenth little diary... while waiting for the next one with a surprise: the discovery of an exceptional manuscript from 1855 on Montautre!
See you soon !
Kind regards
Serge