The site of the motte, on a rocky promontory overlooking the Vègre river, conceals a veritable jumble of history that undoubtedly dates back to ancient times:
Gallo-Roman ruins (1st-3rd centuries) of a public establishment at the junction of two Roman roads.
A vast Merovingian necropolis (6th century).
A feudal mound (11th century) with its fortified castle, destroyed during the Hundred Years' War.
A new castle (18th century), used in 1791 for the first telecommunications experiment by the Chappe brothers, inventors of the optical telegraph and early ancestors of the internet.
It was followed by a middle-class residence (19th century) and then small council housing estates (20th century).
Today, the site is recognised and protected by archaeologists, and awaits the excavations that will uncover its two-thousand-year-old past. An explanatory panel is available on the corner of rue du Pavé and rue de la Douve.
Visit
- Duration of individual visit: 1h min
- Duration of group visit: 1h min
Languages visit
- French
Prices
Gratuit