Carbonnière tower
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2021) |
| Carbonnière tower | |
|---|---|
| Native name Tour Carbonnière (French) | |
 The Carbonnière tower seen from the south | |
| Location | Saint-Laurent-d'Aigouze, Occitanie, France |
| Coordinates | 43°35′32″N 4°12′34″E / 43.59222°N 4.20944°E |
| Built | 13th century |
| Type | Classified |
  Location of Carbonnière tower in France | |
The Carbonnière tower (French: Tour Carbonnière, Occitan: Torre Carbonièra) is a watchtower built at the end of the 13th century to protect the walled city of Aigues-Mortes, in the French department of Gard in the Occitanie region.[1]
Location
[edit]The tower is located on the territory of the municipality of Saint-Laurent-d'Aigouze, in the Gard department in the Occitanie region. It stands in the middle of the marshes, between the Vistre and the Rhône canal in Sète, on the old road linking Saint-Laurent-d'Aigouze to Aigues-Mortes.[2] Its terrace offers a panoramic view of the Petite Camargue.
History
[edit]The Carbonnière tower was mentioned for the first time in a text dated 1346 which gives details on the function of the work: it is said that “this fortress is the key to the kingdom in this region."
Indeed, located in the middle of the marshes, it was the obligatory passage to reach Aigues-Mortes: its crossing was subject to a toll. It was held by a garrison made up of a squire and several guards. The terrace could support up to four pieces of artillery.
It has been classified as a historical monument since 1889.[3]
Architecture
[edit]The tower is built in ashlars to boss (ashlars with protruding central portion and seals accented), just like the Aigues Mortes ramparts. Halfway up, the tower features a row of more regular, darker-colored boss stones. Some ashlars show job marks similar to those found on the ramparts of Aigues-Mortes.
The road once crossed the tower, by a door defended by a portcullis and surmounted by a low arch. The base and the top of the southern and northern facades are pierced with two large loopholes. The parapet of the platform which surmounts the tower has a single niche on each face and a watchtower at each angle.
The site today
[edit]At the end of 2009, the Carbonnière tower was the subject of work aimed at ensuring the safety of the public, in particular on the staircase and the terrace. A discovery trail has also been created in the surrounding marsh. These developments were carried out by the Centre des monuments nationaux, the DRAC of the Languedoc-Roussillon region and the Mixed Syndicate for the protection and management of the Gard Camargue, as part of the Grand site en Petite Camargue.[4][5]
References
[edit]- ^ "Carbonniere Tower". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
- ^ Arfin, Ferne (2007). Adventure Guide to Provence and the Côte D'Azur. Hunter Publishing, Inc. p. 83. ISBN 978-1-58843-551-4.
- ^ Base Mérimée: Tour Carbonnière, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
- ^ "Camargue Gardoise". Réseau des Grands Sites de France (in French). Retrieved 2021-06-23.
- ^ "La Tour Carbonnière défend Aigues-Mortes". Voyages-en-France.fr (in French). 2020-10-27. Retrieved 2022-01-20.
| Authority control databases: Geographic |
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