15 millions years ago....
Some time ago, oh... let's say about 15 million years... in this pretty little corner of Anjou, there was the sea, a tropical sea! And yes, with fish, sharks, and shellfish!
And the sea, little by little, it's gone. And what did she leave, to Doué in Anjou who was not yet named like that, not yet named at all? The shells! Meters, tens of metres of stacked fossil shells that have gradually formed a limestone rock, the faluns.
And it's very convenient! Because this limestone rock can easily be dug, shaped, made into houses, chapels, sculptures, objects...
To visit, therefore, "troglodytes and sarcophagi", in Doué La Fontaine, a site unique in Europe, classified as a historical monument.
Sarcophagi for export....
You will discover, for example, that in the Merovingian era, there was intense extraction activity... of sarcophagi! Thousands of sarcophagi have been produced, and some have even been exported to England!
With underground workshops, a chapel, a farm, and a wine cellar, it is one of the most complete cave sites of the medieval period, particularly impressive!
« troglodytes et sarcophages »
1, rue de la Croix Mordret
Doué-la-Fontaine
49700 Doué en Anjou
Tél. : 02 41 59 24 95 – 06 77 77 06 94
Click on the image
