this village reveals medieval remains in the city center

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Invisible to the naked eye, it was necessary for the gaze of experts to land under the Place de Verdun, in the center of Thor, in Vaucluse, to discover a unexpected archaeological site.

Since September 3, Guilhem Baro, archaeologist at the Vaucluse departmental service, has led a team of eight specialists for an unprecedented preventive excavation: the intramural playground extends over a surface area of ​​1,300 m².

An unsuspected medieval world

It is within the framework of a construction project of 30 social housing units planned for January 2025, by the lessor Grand Delta Habitat that the project that the excavation was launched, revealing the foundations of a medieval habitat hitherto unknown to all.

What was discovered under the feet of the Thorois is confirmation of a human occupation at Thor from the Carolingian period (IX^e-X^e centuries). Until then, the history of the Vauclusian village was only attested from the 12th^e century, around 1125. But thanks to these excavations, archaeologists identified the traces of an ancient village composed of wooden houses which would be the first dwellings in the town.

Carolingian dwellings, masonry and fossil organic matter

For archaeologists, this site is a real mine d’informations to better understand the lifestyles of that time. During the excavations, they found pits filled with peata fossil organic material used to preserve perishable elements such as wood, leather or fabric.

This type of sediment is conducive to the good conservation of remains made of perishable materials (wood, leather, fabric, etc.), which could lead to discoveries of objects of daily life rarely unearthed in usual, drier contexts.

In addition to Carolingian dwellings, the team discovered masonry dating from the Middle Ages, built using a fishbone technique similar to that used for the ramparts of Thor in the 11th century^e and 12^e centuries.

More surprises to come…

The archaeologists are perhaps not at the end of their surprises until mid-December the place will be searched from top to bottom. This excavation will make it possible to acquire a better knowledge of the evolution of this residential district in the city center of the commune of Thor, from medieval times to the present day.

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