Deux mottes castrales
MonumentHidden Treasure
Two medieval castle mounds keeping watch over the Girondine plain of Cabanac-et-Villagrains: discreet yet eloquent vestiges of Aquitaine feudalism, listed as Monuments Historiques in 2020.
History
In the heart of the Entre-deux-Mers region and the rolling countryside of the southern Gironde, the two mottes castrales of Cabanac-et-Villagrains are among the most authentic examples of medieval military architecture in the south-west. These artificial mounds, man-made from earth dug from the surrounding ditches, embody a form of defensive engineering that is both rudimentary and formidably effective, and which structured the rural settlement of Aquitaine from the early Middle Ages until the first decades of the 13th century. What makes this site exceptional is the rare preservation of two mottes facing each other on the same plot of land: a configuration that suggests either the coexistence of two distinct seigneuries sharing the same agrarian space, or a defensive organisation designed in pairs to control a passage, a ford or an ancient road. This spatial duality is relatively uncommon in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region and gives the site its unique archaeological and landscape value. Visiting these mounds is as much an exercise in imagination as it is a walk through the Bordeaux countryside. Each mound, whose flattened summit once bore a wooden tower - and perhaps later a masonry structure - offers an unobstructed view of the immediate surroundings from its summit, a reminder of the strategic rationale behind their construction. The moats, partially visible in the relief, complete the picture of the defensive system. The natural setting plays a full part in the experience: the wet meadows, hedgerows and riverbanks that surround the site are part of an unspoilt landscape, ideal for contemplation and landscape photography. For lovers of medieval heritage, this off-the-beaten-path site represents a precious stopover, far from the crowds but rich in historical resonance.
Architecture
The mottes castrales at Cabanac-et-Villagrains belong to the category of simple mottes with a bailey, the most common form in the medieval Bordeaux region. Each motte takes the form of a truncated cone-shaped artificial mound, raised between four and ten metres above the surrounding ground level, with a base diameter of up to thirty to fifty metres and a flattened summit platform around ten metres in diameter. The steeply sloping sides were originally palisaded and sometimes lined with wattle and daub to consolidate the slope and discourage climbing. The building material is exclusively local earth - clays, silts and sands - extracted from ring ditches dug around the periphery of each motte. These ditches, which could be flooded by streams or wetlands typical of the southern Gironde, were as important a defensive feature as the mound itself. At the top was a wooden tower, probably two storeys high, accessible from the bailey via a flight of stairs or a removable wooden ramp - a last resort in the event of an attack. The presence of two mottes on the same plot of land suggests an overall interpretation: their relative positioning, which topographical analysis of contemporary LiDAR surveys would enable to be clarified, suggests a functional complementarity or a staggered construction chronology. The ensemble remains legible in today's landscape, making it a first-rate topographical document for understanding medieval seigneurial settlement in south-west Aquitaine.
Related Figures
Seigneurs de Cabanac (Xe-XIIe siècle) — lignage local présumé, constructeurs et occupants des mottesSeigneurs de Villagrains (Xe-XIIe siècle) — famille noble distincte, possiblement liée à la seconde motteDucs d'Aquitaine (IXe-XIIe siècle) — suzerains de la région sous l'autorité desquels furent érigées les fortifications féodales de GascogneAliénor d'Aquitaine (1122-1204) — duchesse dont le règne vit la transformation du réseau castral gascon et le déclin des mottes au profit des châteaux en pierreArchéologues médiévistes de la DRAC Nouvelle-Aquitaine (XXe-XXIe siècle) — chercheurs ayant contribué à l'identification et à la protection du site
