Association de Sauvegarde du

CHATEAU DE GAVRAY

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4 – Room C

4.1 Exposed Structures

It is a regular looking piece, roughly rectangular, measuring 5m20/5m30 by 6m35/6m40:
- The walls are made of stones of irregular dimensions, but the construction is neat. They have a flat surface, with the exception of the south wall, which was completely deformed by the roots of a tree uprooted in the 1987 storm.
- For the first time on the site, wall plaster can be seen in place on the east wall. It is a white, smooth coating with no trace of colouring.
- At the south-west corner, a 1.50 m wide access is provided. From the west, one descended into this room by one or more steps: a step is clearly outlined in the room, it is made up of stones of irregular dimensions bound to the mortar.

- opposite, at the south-west corner, is an access to the neighbouring staircase (stair tower D). This passage is materialized on the ground by a threshold formed by two thick slabs of schist. A third slab to the south has disappeared

The left right foot of the door is composed of well-cut stones, which terminate the east wall of the room, behind which a rounded space appears to be the site of a wooden post. To the right of this threshold, there is no right foot: the south wall of the room extends uninterruptedly to the east.
The almost total absence of material (shards, objects, bones) is very striking compared to the dungeon area. If the floor was not paved, then it was kept very clean.

The very few objects do not allow us to advance a dating. However, the paving tiles found here are commonly dated to the fourteenth century. The same can be found at the nearby Hambye Abbey. The coinage of 1341 takes us back to one of the most flourishing periods of the castle: that of the Navarrese people; But there is no reason to predict a certain date.

4.2 Excavation  

The only layer of occupation observed is located in the southeast corner, at the level of the shale sill, it was found to be very thin. It contained charcoal and traces of unpreserved metal objects. The only material consisted of four, very small, potsherds, three of which were made of sandstone. The thinness of the layer and the poverty of its contents make it possible to imagine that the floor of the room was kept very clean. The paving tiles found in large quantities in the upper levels undoubtedly come from a nearby level or building.

The support of this very hard layer, over the whole piece, revealed new stones (some of which seemed to be bound to the mortar) and slabs of schist, in the center of the room. It was becoming more and more obvious that there were  the remains of a flattened building. The layer of silty earth, whose colour was not homogeneous, then appeared as a filling of the room, intended to bring the floor to the level of the levelling of the wall.

Probably only the base remained, and the occupation layer had only been preserved in the south-east corner, under a large pile of material that had already protected the plaster on the east wall.

In the south-east corner, between two layers of clay, a fragment of a mortar slab remained, which slightly covered the last stones, to the south, of the north-south levelled wall (traces of masonry work at this level). It should be noted that all the layers excavated in the south-east corner, with the exception of the humus layer, were broken at the edge of the south wall, 0.60 m from it. At that time, there was only a filling of stones.
This anomaly can certainly be attributed to the waste pickers because a shale patch has disappeared from the sill right next to it.

After the loam soil had been completely removed, it became possible to understand the previous layout of the space over the entire room.

5 – The earlier buildings in room C

An east-west wall, not attached to the previous one, but glued to it. Without foundations, it rests directly on the silt layer, and only a foundation of stones remains. It stops in the west, a few inches from the west wall of the room. These walls therefore separate the interior space of this room into several distinct areas.
It has also been observed that the wall of the room is not homogeneous in construction: if at the occupancy level of the square room C, it is roughly rectilinear, it quickly becomes obvious, on excavation, that it is in fact above the occupancy level of two different constructions:
- to the east, its base extends far into the interior of the room,

- to the west, its thickness is constant.

It then becomes interesting to look at this wall, from the other side, i.e. from room A: here we find the two constructions observed in the next room. It can also be seen that where the wall is thickest, it belongs to the same construction as the north-south levelled wall. Here's what forces us to look at these buildings in a completely different way:
- the south-west corner, for an unknown reason and at an undetermined time, was partly destroyed,
- the south wall, partially preserved, was then used as the interior wall of the AB buildings. But, not advancing sufficiently to the west, it was extended by a wall of lesser thickness,
- the west wall, on the other hand, has been levelled and disappeared under the new construction C whose floor has been established more than 2m above the AB buildings. We can therefore expect to find a large thickness of backfill in this room.

Further excavations would provide a better understanding of the history and its purpose.

6 – The north-east corner of the enclosure

The north-east corner of the enclosure appeared as a vast rounded dome, too large to be merely the collapse of the surrounding wall, but impossible to identify as a building. After levelling this dome, to a depth of almost one metre, at its greatest height, no stratigraphy appeared. It was, without a doubt, a thick layer of demolition, consisting of stones of various sizes, irregularly shaped, and quite small on the whole. Rare shards (sandstone), fragments of tiles, roofing shale and cobblestones were the only material.

The appearance of a layer of earth and the excavation undertaken provided two surprises:
- an abundance of sherds (in stark contrast to room C),
- structures,
It was a whole set of constructions that were unearthed: . the surrounding wall, to the east, the inner face of which appears to be well preserved, . a stairway tower, leaning against the east-west wall, . a square aedicule also leaning against this wall, . bones of small animals (rabbits, birds, etc.).

The open space appears to be an outdoor space, a small courtyard (F)

7 – The stair tower 

It is a small rectangular building (D) measuring 2.50 m by 2.70 m. It is attached to the south-west wall, without being attached to it. It was accessed from room C by a shale sill.

A winding staircase led to a higher floor, but it is impossible to know which building it served. The location of the first steps is clearly discernible, but the masonry is too damaged to be able to discern the next ones.

8 – Latrine

It is a small rectangular building (E) with external dimensions of 2m50 x 1m70 and interior dimensions of 1mx1m40. It is leaning against the east-west wall, which has a fairly large fruit.

It has been thoroughly excavated: the bottom is made up of a flat, very hard floor, gravel bound with mortar, 1.50 m below the level of the walls.

The north wall has an opening 60 cm wide and 80 cm high, well delineated by three large cut stones. The dimensions of the recess, its position outside a building, its opening at the base and finally its concretions, seem to indicate the use of latrines. It should be noted, however, that the building is not directly related to the outside of the enclosure. These latrines, along with the stairwell, served the second floor of Building AB, on which they are located.
This aedicule contained little earth but pebbles, mortar, a large number of fragments of tiles, and visible traces of demolition in its upper part.

The background was very rich in objects:
- roof tiles,
- ridge tiles, including one with a green glaze, entirely reconstructed,
- two large small stoneware vases, a glazed ceramic flask, a ribbed glass-goblet,
- numerous paving stones, with various patterns,
- a fragment of glazing lead, three small bronze bells (grouped together).

The objects at the bottom of the pit, in particular, the cobblestones, bore the traces of brown-black concretions.

According to Messrs. Ozouf and Coutard: "  When viewed with binoculars, the coating appears as a kind of dark brown resin with small amber areas containing woody plant debris and elements of animal origin such as small chrysalises. The resin encompasses a coarse sand. There seems to have been an evolution of organic matter in a humid and confined environment."

The size of the recess, its position outside a building, the opening at the base and finally these concretions, seem to indicate the use of latrines. It should be noted, however, that the walls bear no traces, and that the building is not in direct relation to the outside of the enclosure. The objects, in particular the glass-goblet and the ridge tile, give the end of the fifteenth or sixteenth century as a probable date. This dating is consistent with the one provided by the token, on the floor of Coin B.

9 – Between the stair tower and the latrine

10 – Between the latrine and the perimeter wall 

There was a contribution of waste, the containers were apparently not broken on the spot, unlike those found in the latrines. The excavation stopped at a softer silty layer with traces of charcoal.

Appendix: The Conclusion of the 1989 Excavation Report

"As we had anticipated, we have a large residential area here, which has been developed in succession.
In the current state of research, it appears that:
- A large rectangular building (5) occupied the north-east corner of the enclosure: the south-west corner is now extant. Its walls were 1.50 m thick.
Its western wall included two arches, made of large slabs of shale.
- This building has been partially destroyed.
- the south wall has been reused and redesigned to serve as the interior wall of the large building A B (4).
- Room C (1) was built on the ruins of the west wall, 2 m above room A (4).
- A stair tower (2) and latrines (3) were added to the south wall.
- the northern part of the perimeter wall has been rebuilt, as it is built to the north of room C (1) on the levelled west wall.
It seems that we have two large buildings in succession:
- the destroyed building in the northeast corner.

- to the south of it, the building A B, used in the sixteenth century.

Excavation is to continue in this part of the site, in order to clarify a number of points that remain unclear.

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