MEDITERRANEAN CHRONICLES
THE TREASURES OF THE ALPILLES
The Alpilles, an island, a golden triangle sculpted by time.
A steep block of limestone, 19 miles long by 6 kilometers wide.
68,000 inhabitants from the 16 communes share a territory of over 50,000 hectares
which constitute a regional natural park: the Alpilles.
Over the centuries, man’s footprints have carved out this landscape.
From the village of Fontvieille via Les Baux and Saint-Rémy-de-Provence,
your Mediterranean Chronicles cover 2,500 years of the history of our civilization.
A hidden treasure of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence,
Jean will reveal the secrets of the renovation of the Hôtel de Sade.
Lionel will open the doors
to part of the reserves of the excavations of the ancient city of Glanum.
Between history, myth and legend,
Patrick will talk about the golden years of the Château des Baux-de-Provence.
Finally, Patricia will reveal the mysteries
of one of the medieval military weapons: the trebuchet.
White limestone is the distinctive feature of this massif.
It’s used for all the construction work that we’re about to discover today.
Near Fontvieille, on the Barbegal site, I meet Alain,
a passionate archeologist who'll reveal the secrets of these two Roman aqueducts.
This is the first century of our era.
Alain, could you explain how aqueducts work to me?
Ultimately, aqueducts are just pipes.
They take water from A to B,
but the water is driven by gravity, by its own weight.
So, the challenge for these Roman engineers
was to find a source higher up than the end point
and, right now, you’re walking on stonework
which formed the water pipe.
It's a lovely pipe!
Did the Romans settle here because
besides the stone, the Alpilles massif was also a source.
Yes, it's a huge water reservoir which had its own problems
because it’s karstic rock, that is, cracked limestone, and the water soaks in.
It's very rich in water and buried. That’s why they went so far to get it.
The sources of the Arles aqueduct are on the other side of the Alpilles,
further than Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, and the aqueduct is about 250 miles long.
The goal was to provide Arles's water supply.
It’s the regional capital and the Romans, the people from Arles,
needed permanent drinking and running water, perennial sources.
Here, there isn't one aqueduct, there are two.
Indeed, there are two. We have big blocks of stone here,
known as "large stonework."
It’s the first aqueduct, the one that led to Arles.
And, 100 years later, the Roman engineers realized
that the aqueduct leant on a rock at the end of the Vallon des Arcs
and that, behind that rock, there was a slope.
They realized that they could use the slope and the force of the water.
So, they built a second aqueduct to supply a factory,
a mill that produced flour.
Where did the Romans get all these stones to build all this?
Here, in the Alpilles. - Yes.
It's a limestone massif, with different quality limestone,
but there are ledges of very good quality rock
which we are still using today.
The proof is in the fact that the base of this aqueduct
was built with large stones,
meaning that they found a ledge
which had the right quality for cutting out these large stones.
But, as it's complicated, the next time, they'll build it more like this
using a cluster of small stones and mortar,
allowing you to have local limestone but not necessarily the same quality.
There’s also the problem of moving it.
It has to be extracted from the quarry, lifted with a crane,
brought here and laid down with all the engineering and costs involved.
Whereas, small stones are easier to move.
As an archaeologist, how do you think we could preserve this site?
It’s always complicated, because open-air remains deteriorate
because of the frost in winter
and also because vegetation grows in between the stones.
It needs regular maintenance, weeding and reconstruction too.
You can’t preserve a monument without partly redoing it
by realigning the blocks, and adding more mortar.
You need to follow up, otherwise obviously, it will just disappear.
It’s also part of the game. Preservation means people will visit
and that adds to its deterioration.
That's all part of its life, otherwise, why preserve it?
Isn’t that difficult for you? - No, you have to make do with it.
It’s good that people visit. I like that a lot.
Is it on a site like this that you came up with your comic strip with Laurent?
Partly yes, because the Barbegal site is beautiful
but very damaged and ruined
and the idea of showing this archaeological site to a wide audience
through a comic strip, was very nice.
When I created the comic strip project
with professional author, Laurent Sieurac,
we wanted to integrate and reproduce Barbegal
so that people can get a clear picture of what this site really was.
How do you work together on the comic strip?
We’re a real duo: the author, Laurent, and the archaeologist.
Both of us are comic strip fans and we love reading them
and the idea was to create a real comic strip, nothing educational.
It has to stay fun. - Exactly.
It must be real narrative fiction. That's Laurent’s job.
I bring the archaeological and historical elements
and I check his work,
so that those reading our stories can, indirectly, without realizing it,
learn things about ancient Rome.
This gives them two possible ways of reading it:
a fictitious universe, immersing the reader into a recreated ancient world
and basic facts which they absorb without realizing.
Across the Alpilles, there are over 200 archaeological sites
and about 100 listed buildings
or listed French historic monuments.
Just over a mile south of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, here is Glanum.
In the 6th century BC, a Gaul tribe
settles on the outskirts of our future ancient town.
Greek influences allow the town to develop.
But the Roman empire develops the city in the first century of our era,
with the construction of a triumphant arch, a mausoleum
but also temples, thermal baths and forums.
There’s another place I’d like you to discover.
It's an unusual site as it has ancient and medieval remains.
It's a 15th century residence erected by Balthazar de Sade.
I'm meeting Jean Brunet who helped restore the Hôtel de Sade.
Jean, I'd like you to tell me about your job as works supervisor
which people don’t know much about.
The works supervisor is the link...
WORKS SUPERVISOR
...between the project manager, i.e. the architect,
the contractor, that is, the client who commissions the work
and my team of workers:
stone cutters and masons who will carry out the work.
In concrete terms, on a site, I'll manage
the technical aspect first, that's the most important thing,
and the financial aspect, as we need to earn some money,
and then the administrative aspect.
We'll set aside this third point.
On a site like this, how did you blend into the landscape?
The Hôtel de Sade is quite idiosyncratic
because you have several overlapping eras.
There's the Renaissance wing that we'll see later,
the Roman part
and then a 19th to 20th century part which is less interesting.
For example, here we have
the oldest part, which is the Roman part with the chapel.
These are the remains of the chapel and you can see the arches here,
the beginnings of molded arches and you can see the bays here.
Does your job also require
great historical knowledge?
First of all, we rely on the architect’s knowledge,
i.e. the architect of historical monuments
or the heritage architect or the French building architect.
But from the workforce to the works supervisor,
we all have a wealth of experience or training linked to historical monuments.
For example, I originally trained as a stone cutter.
So, you know what you’re talking about. - I hope so!
And then I learned on the job
and I decided from the start that I’d specialize in historical monuments,
as a stone cutter can create new things.
Here we're in a Roman period. - Yes, we're in the thermal baths.
What kind of material would you use to replace stones here?
We're not talking strengthening, but pure restoration.
First of all, we'll take a sample of original stone.
We could then send it to a laboratory. - For analysis.
To get a specific analysis of its technical characteristics.
Then we'll request an esthetic analysis,
of course,
to perfectly match the grain.
I’d then take the stone and expose it to different quarries,
as the stones used on Roman sites
weren’t taken from Spain, Italy or anywhere else.
I’d bring the sample back to the site to be validated by the project manager,
by the architect,
and then we'll start work on it.
It's all part of your job as a restorer. Your title is "Works Supervisor,"
but ultimately, your job is restoration.
How do you see your job evolving, as, with everything going on in the world,
we sometimes destroy some of our monuments?
Sometimes in this job, you can meet other people
and, beyond our building work, we transfer certain things.
When you restore a building, you’re working for future generations.
You’re transferring cultural and historical legacy
but also know-how.
When I go to the Middle East, to Jordan, for example,
the idea is not only to restore or strengthen a building,
but also to transfer know-how so that the local workforce
take ownership of it again.
When you understand something,
you can start loving it and preserving it.
Crammed with architecture from ancient times to the Renaissance,
the Hôtel de Sade also holds the archaeological remains
from the Glanum site.
It's an exceptional collection
retracing the work of post-World War I archaeologists.
This journey through time leads me to one of this stately home's secret rooms.
What on earth is this place, Lionel? - These are the reserves.
MANAGER OF THE HÔTEL DE SADE AND GLANUM
It's the hotel's inner sanctum. It's off limits to the public.
For the past century, we've been gathering
all the Glanum excavations, the collections.
We saw the statues which are more or less all on display,
as you’ve kept some back to exhibit later.
What have you already indexed here?
I presume that's been indexed? - That's ten years of inventory work.
We gather all the excavated objects, clean them up,
wrap them up, protect them and analyze them.
They are studied by students and researchers
and then they're displayed in our windows or exhibitions.
On the right hand side, are the newly excavated objects.
May I take one? - Of course.
It’s impressive, you know.
How old is this? - It’s a fragment of Gallo-Roman ceramic.
It’s from the change of era, the 1st century AD.
That's what I'm holding? - Exactly.
What a privilege.
There are many more at the back. - Yes, we have metal fragments,
weapons, jewelry, objects and many sculptures.
Glanum is all about temples, it’s a center of monuments, a forum,
a big Greco-Roman city
and all these fragments come from its destruction.
Glanum was destroyed in late ancient times and then served as a quarry.
As archaeologists, we search the debris, this puzzle, thousands of stones
which we’re going to gradually clean up and catalog.
It’s a huge task that we’ve been working on for years,
gradually trying to recreate these first temples of Glanum,
which currently aren't publically visible, and make a 3D model available.
Do you realize that we contemplate all of this?
You see this every day, but do you still feel as excited
when you enter a room like this? - Yes, obviously.
Especially as it's the result of excavations.
Sometimes we discover boxes that haven’t been opened since 1930 or 1940
and we wonder what our predecessors found and cataloged
and we make fine discoveries.
It’s better than Indiana Jones, isn’t it? - Yes, it’s research work, above all.
Our daily work involves lots of time in the lab, drawing and taking photos
and fieldwork is only about a third of our work.
In the near future, the Hôtel de Sade will become the emblematic site
retracing 200 years of history in the town of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.
It’ll also be an exhibition site for all the Glanum excavations.
But getting back to this white limestone
from the quarries around the Baux-de-Provence,
known as much for the geological formations surrounding it
as for its history.
Tucked away behind these old stones is the grand medieval site of Provence.
We're now in the 10th century, Christianity prevails throughout the West.
The Bishop of Arles, Manassès, imposes his authority
and redistributes the regional land among the lords who support him.
Patrick, tell me about Isnar, the man at the source of all this.
Isnar is the starting point of this family
who settled here despite having land in Argens, on the other side of the Rhône.
Suddenly, Bishop Manassès offers them the best land in the region,
the Vallis Faloria. What a joy, a valley full of game!
They settle in and it's an excellent choice.
What’s the story about Balthazar’s descendants?
That’s a very fine legend.
It was a period of strong Christianity.
They duped people that they were descended from the first Christians.
For example, if you read the bible,
Saul talks about shepherds but the nobility don't relate to that.
So, they chose the Wise Men. They didn't know how many there were,
but suddenly the Church says there were three of them.
The most closest name was Balthazar.
And what does it correspond to? To the name "Baux..."
Balthazar-Baux, and, in the Middle Ages, it was pronounced "Bautezar."
So, this place is emblematic of the Alpilles
like Saint-Rémy and Fontvieille,
but here, once again, it’s like an eagle’s nest.
Absolutely, we're overhanging.
What or whom does it actually overhang, because I presume it was for protection?
It’s first use was to protect against potential enemies coming from all over,
because it was very easy to see them coming.
To impress these people, they even built a dungeon
very high up, although it was completely useless.
You have a good view up here.
It’s more about being seen from afar. It’s a psychological strategy.
Describe the Castle's landscape as we see from here.
Not the ruins, but you can see that there was a lot of construction here.
Absolutely. Firstly, it's a fortress that is built
and will gradually separate the villagers
from the warriors and nobility.
They'll be separated by a door.
People start occupying the surrounding land,
knowing that they'd be protected whenever they came back here
because the Baux are totally impenetrable.
Are there several levels of construction over the centuries?
Yes, the most important part and most visible to people
is currently the Renaissance part.
Is it underneath? - Yes, it's in better condition.
We have vestiges there.
I don’t want to go back over Marguerite Yourcenar’s text,
but she says: "That mighty sculptor, time."
But when you come here, it’s so magical
that it's like seeing the Castle in the Middle Ages
and you forget the Renaissance, etc.
So, show me the Renaissance part. - Yes, absolutely.
This Castle has several eras.
It was demolished and rebuilt. Tell me the story.
After inheriting part of the Lançon-Provence,
Louis XI also inherited the Baux, but unfortunately, his worst enemy
was the Duke of Burgundy. - Yes, I know he was from Burgundy!
Charles the Bold doesn't want him to reclaim the Baux
and so he demolishes it.
Another king then decides that he needs an impenetrable place,
once again, Francis I.
He's a man of taste and the small touches of Renaissance we see are thanks to him.
With the support of his friend and right-hand man,
Anne de Montmorency, the future Constable.
We know that the Alpilles mountain range is a very chalky site.
It’s also the site of a water tower. Everywhere except here, in fact.
The problem with the Baux is that there's no water.
OK, it's impenetrable.
It's practical in that way, but there's no water.
So, people had to go down every day to collect water
from the other side of the entrance.
The entrance is just over there and very small.
The narrowness of the door was a defense mechanism.
What is your favorite thing around here?
The variety of stone
and its dreamy colors.
This landscape and all its buildings
evoke every era and allow you to fully experience each one.
That’s what I like.
There was a long succession of lords in the Château des Baux.
Alix des Baux will be the last and sole heiress of this land.
A few years after her death, the Castle will be demolished.
Middle Ages enthusiast, Patricia Fuster pays tribute to this woman of peace
by creating the Alix Workshops.
The program includes calligraphy, crossbow and catapulting
or rather, trebuchet.
Yes!
I understand the security mechanism. - The rope is very dangerous.
Contrary to the catapult which uses the twist of a rope,
the trebuchet uses the counterweight principle to launch its projectile.
Three of you on that side and two on the bars.
It’s really impressive. - Especially the rope with the wind.
The danger of the rope is that there’s a ring
which keeps the slingshot in place.
MEDIEVAL ACTIVITY LEADER
Security first. - Absolutely.
I heard that it doesn’t roll away. - No, it’s very heavy.
Once in place in front of the Castle, we leave it there.
Adjustments are made on site
and can be made directly to the device.
For example, changing the hook right at the top of the mast
which you will see come down later
and the placement of the pouch will modify the shot.
I was told that the cannonballs they launched
weighed tons. - Not really.
Pounds? - Yes.
That's already quite heavy.
How much do they weigh? - 75 lbs.
Really? - Yes, on average.
You can use heavier or lighter but heavier is of no benefit.
It's more difficult for the device to launch a 95 lb cannonball.
There's not much point. A 75 lb one will be more effective.
During the war, how far from the Castle would the trebuchet be?
Around 150 to 200 meters away, out of the archers' shooting range.
When you install this kind of device, which is the tallest in France...
Yes, the mast is 16 meters high.
Where do you and Bernard get it from?
It's not something you find lying around in your garden.
No. It was recreated by someone who works in the movies.
He builds the war machines. Renaud Beffeyte
who recreated this device from documents that were found.
In the Middle Ages, these devices were built in advance
and, when a lord decided to attack a castle, he’d just simply order one.
Like in a catalog. - Yes.
"Hi, I’d like a trebuchet."
The device was delivered piece by piece.
The parts travelled by road and were delivered in front of the Castle.
I see you're wearing your magnificent medieval costume.
The fascination for this slightly forgotten era
is really exciting. - Yes. It's a little girl’s dream.
Princesses, knights...
It was an opportunity when I arrived in the region.
I created the Alix Workshops... - To pay tribute to her?
To pay tribute to this beautiful woman who reigned over the Château des Baux
and who never went to war.
She developed culture and had a widespread reputation.
Alix des Baux was a fascinating but peaceful figure.
Could I go and help Bernard maybe? Bernard, do you need any help?
With the cannonball, maybe. - OK. Where is it? Ah, it's over there.
OK, I’ll bring the cannonball then.
This thing is so heavy.
I slip it into the board and the pouch.
You're playing a weird game, Bernard. I'd never have guessed.
Careful with the rope.
Subtitles: Babel Subtitling - babelSUB.be