chevesne51 wrote:The last picture makes me think of a
Grain Reserve
This is indeed what an archaeologist CNRS thinks, this method of storage was apparently common at the time (Gallic, antiquity,? ...) as explained in the site of your link:
“But let's come back to what the grain silos were in antiquity. They were often holes dug into the ground in which were stored quantities of grain to preserve them. Closed, these reserves were protected. , a fermentation of the grains produced an atmosphere which made it possible to preserve them. On the sides of the reserve in contact with the ground, a layer of mold formed which was a repellent for the insects which could not cross it. "Other archaeologists have also advanced the following hypotheses:
- cache in which several people could take refuge when their territory was attacked, especially during the many local wars of religion
- access to a sub-field: it would be necessary to dig to see if a gallery leaves this cave ...
For the photos, the first are fragments of large Roman jars, called (or) Dolium or (a) Dolia.
The following are pieces of pottery dating from about 1000 year. As for the bone, probably of sheep (*), it should be analyzed to confirm. This bone also appeared after the collapse of the slope, and it was kept under 3 meters of earth with medieval gray pottery.
It is interesting to note that on the same place one finds vestiges of different eras which succeeded one another, some coming to "cover" the others over time, the oldest vestiges being buried deep in the ground.
(I often wondered if there was a technical way to map the basements to have a representation in 3D to visualize the archaeological content under our feet: we can locate pockets of oil and shale gas ... but, certainly, for these, their location allows to start a financially juicy industrialization of their recovery, which is not the same with archeology that yields a cultural wealth!)
(*) Another amusing anecdote: these recent archaeological discoveries have triggered a series of archaeologists coming to make the first surface observations. A summary of their work was presented last September at a local conference, and the archaeologist sent by the cnrs explained that he often found preserved animal remains to better know the old eating habits: bones, teeth , ... and excrement!
and at the cnrs there are precisely scientists specialized in the analysis of (ex) animal excrement.
On the occasion of a search, archaeologists have found a kind of big dung kept in the ground, gently removed and sent to the ad-hoc service of the cnrs to know the animal origin of this dung ... and against all odds it was a bread dough dropped on the ground and then kept as it is for more than 1000 years!
