We were off early to walk to the banks
of the Loire where we joined many other people at the very large
market. The market is held on Fridays and Sundays and is well worth a
visit. Everything is there, from plants to ironmongery,
double-glazing to clothes and, of course, large number of food stalls
covering meat, fish, shellfish (including Breton mussels and
oysters), cheese and vegetables. My favourite was the bread stall
exhibiting beautiful breads cooked in a wood-fired oven. We were
modest in our purchases – four saucissons, a French salami (I chose
duck, wild mushroom, smoked and choriso); a wooden pestle to replace
my broken one and one of those lovely loaves.
Jane had taken a fancy to the area
around Poitiers and the AA France map showed some interesting
historical and archaeological sites there so we set off across
country. The Amboise aire has no water or dumping facilities so our
first port of call was the aire at Athee-sur-Cher where we were able
to fill our fresh water tank and empty our waste water.
There were scattered vineyards in the
gently rolling countryside on most of our journey but not the vaste
areas that we have seen in the major wine-producing areas. There were
many very small ones, perhaps only four or five rows of vines
alongside large fields of sunflowers or maize, obviously these were
the farmers personal vines.
We arrived at the very pretty river La
Vienne and drove south alongside it, passing the impressive Château
de Tauffou on the opposite bank, until we crossed the river to the
village of Civaux. The map showed a Gallo-Roman Cemetery here, what
it didn't show was that it was in the shadow of the enormous cooling
towers of an EDF power station. The cemetery however was well worth
the visit. Stone flags formed the perimeter and inside were hundreds
of sarcophagi, half-burried, laying on the surface or propped up
against the walls. It soon became clear that the stone wall was
actually made entirely of the lids of sarcophagi. The cemetery
started life in Roman times and continued to be used after the Roman
times, right up to current times with the latest inscription that we
saw dating to 2012. Some of the sarcophagi have been dated to the 6th
to 8th century AD and some have re-used ancient (Roman?)
columns and stele (gravestones). Fascinating – we have certainly
never seen anything like it before.
Travelling west, we came to
Château-Larcher were the map marked a Lanterne des Morts (a lantern
of the dead). The map showed a number of these from here to the coast
and we were intrigued to find out what they were. Following signs, we
passed the Mediaeval château that gave the village its name. Houses
have been built against the extant parts of the castle whilst other
parts are in ruins. The castle chapel was turned into the village
church in the 12th Century with a new, impressive entrance
created in the castle walls. We were able to park a few metres
further on and walk to the cemetery where we found the elegant, slim
structure of the Lanterne des Morts. Fortunately, an extensive
information board was attached to the cemetery gates and, with our
limited grasp of French, we were able to establish that there are 30
such structures in the area and that they were built in the 10th
Century. The Château-Larcher Lanterne des Morts is a particularly
good example in excellent condition. A lamp was put into the hollow
structure through a door at the base and this produced a light
through the openings at the top.
On then to Vivonne and the aire in the
centre of the village next to the Tourist Information Office.
Photos: The Amboise market – bread
cooked in a wood-fired oven; The cemetery in Civaux – the wall that
surrounds the cemetery is made entirely of the lids of the ancient
sarcophagi; The Lanterne des Morts at rench -Larcher.
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