|  History
Overlooking the village
of Lamanon, perched on the top of a hill, you will discover Les Grottes
de Calès a truly exceptional place, in many respects.
The first inhabitants of Lamanon
settled on the hill and built a number of cave-dwellings, 116 grottoes
are counted to date, 58 of which are inside a natural amphitheatre.
In the Middle Ages, this group of grottoes housed up to 200
inhabitants. The amphitheatre was fortified and developed into
outbuildings
and living quarters.
A medieval Château was built using stones
from the hill and a part of the ite was converted into a quarry. The
site was abandoned at the end of the XVIth century.
The Château, which dominates
the settlement, more or less destroyed in the XIVth
century, and restored at the end of
the XVth century. It was then destroyed once again during
the XVIth century during religious wars.
These days, the discovery of the
site is made easier by 2 way-marked foot- paths and the GR6. The
ACSD Society “ Association Calès Saint-Denis”takes
care of the improvement and the upkeep of this cultural heritage.
Excavation work has lead to the
finding of a huge number of remains (pottery jewellery, combs…)
most of which date back to the Middle Ages.A museum allows visitors
to view the remains, which are displayed, dated and indexed.
For more information
concerning the Grottes de Calès, you can contact the President of
the ACSD, Mme PROUTIERE Tel : 04.90.59.54.62
|
Alpilles
