Site archéologique du Bois du Pinel
MonumentHidden Treasure
Site archéologique du Bois du Pinel, located in Argentré-du-Plessis (Département 35), is a medieval landmark built in the Middle Ages. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Medieval (11th-15th century)
- Location
- Argentré-du-Plessis, Département 35, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.0200, -1.1666
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00135357
Buried beneath the foliage of Ille-et-Vilaine, the archaeological site of Bois du Pinel reveals a remarkably complex 11th-century motte castrale: two barnyards, two enclosures and a double moat that are perfectly legible.
History
In the heart of a wooded plateau on the edge of eastern Brittany, the Bois du Pinel archaeological site is one of the rare examples in Brittany of a medieval earthen fortification that has been preserved in its entire topography. Far from the restored stone facades and museum halls, this site offers a different kind of contemplation: that of the bare relief, the slopes gently rising towards the motte, the still-deep ditches where shade stagnates in all seasons. This is archaeology at its rawest and most moving. What makes this site truly unique is the legible superimposition of its defensive components. The central motte, thirty metres wide, dominates a system organised in successive rings: an initial horseshoe-shaped bailey to the east, a second semi-elliptical bailey to the south, and then two rectangular entrenchments at the edges of the site. Each element bears witness to military and political considerations, to a desire to control the territory that was refined over the generations of the lords. The visitor experience is one of landscape archaeology. There is no tower, no keep, no curtain wall - and that's precisely what fascinates the trained eye and the curious walker alike. The ground speaks for itself: the hollows are ditches, the humps are embankments, the slight slope of the northern glacis of the motte becomes, once identified, a defensive device of unexpected sophistication. The vegetation, far from obscuring the site, envelops it in an atmosphere that is both mysterious and intimate. The wooded setting of Argentré-du-Plessis adds to the uniqueness of the site. In autumn, when the fallen leaves clear the relief lines, the site suddenly becomes crystal clear. In spring, the mosses and ferns reappear on the embankments, giving the whole site an almost fairytale-like appearance. This site, listed as a Historic Monument since 1995, is well worth a visit for anyone interested in the feudal origins of Brittany or the archaeology of medieval power.
Architecture
The architecture of Le Bois du Pinel is an architecture of land and space, to be understood not by its elevations but by its morphology on the ground. The central motte, thirty metres in diameter, has a truncated cone-shaped profile characteristic of early feudalism. Its north side is underlined by a glacis - a slight slope built to thwart an attack - reflecting a precise tactical concern. At the top was a wooden tower, a type of "wooden keep", which has now disappeared but can be reconstructed by analogy with better-documented contemporary sites. The first farmyard, in the shape of a horseshoe, extends to the east of the motte over an area of around 110 square metres. This arched shape hugs the base of the motte and bears witness to a concerted layout designed to maximise mutual protection between the two areas. An embankment and two successive ditches encircle the entire defensive core, creating a wet, earthy barrier that is formidable to any attacker. The second farmyard, semi-elliptical and around fifty metres long, is built to the south, doubling the site's capacity for accommodation and activity. Alongside this central structure, two rectangular entrenchments surrounded by ditches complete the overall layout. Their more regular geometry and peripheral layout distinguish them from the primitive features and suggest a functional evolution of the site, perhaps linked to agricultural uses or livestock enclosures in a later phase of occupation. The ensemble is a remarkably complete testimony to the art of earthen fortification characteristic of the early feudal age in Brittany.
Related Figures
Seigneurs d'Argentré (famille médiévale ayant tenu le fief aux XIe-XIIe siècles)Bertrand d'Argentré (érudit breton du XVIe siècle, historien du duché de Bretagne, descendant probable de la lignée seigneuriale locale)Archéologues du Service Régional de l'Archéologie de Bretagne (responsables de la documentation et de la protection du site au XXe siècle)
Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Site archéologique du Bois du Pinel located?
Site archéologique du Bois du Pinel is located in Argentré-du-Plessis, Département 35 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Site archéologique du Bois du Pinel built?
Site archéologique du Bois du Pinel dates back to a period built in the Middle Ages (11th-15th century).
Is Site archéologique du Bois du Pinel open to visitors?
Site archéologique du Bois du Pinel is currently closed to visitors.