Association de Sauvegarde du

CHATEAU DE GAVRAY

THE EAST BUILDING

The excavation uncovered the foundations of a rectangular building (at least 11m x 6m) of which only a very small part can be seen today. Separated from the keep by a narrow, partly paved passage, the walls that delimit it are narrow (0.60m) and preserved at a very low height (0.30m). They are laid on layers of clay and mortar without foundations. The north wall was propped up on the outside by a clay glacis. The interior of the building appeared to be paved with stones. The thinness of the walls, their poor construction, the absence of foundations, suggest that they supported planks or cob.

This building rested on a layer of yellow clay, very hard, practically virgin, containing fragments of wall plaster in places. This layer of clay masked the working surface of masons who were contemporaneous with the construction of the keep.

The vast majority of the ceramics discovered are sandstone. There were also many green-glazed glazed sherds: ember stove, drip pan, dishes, all objects frequently used in the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

At the base of the keep, large stones are well matched, then, parallel to the east wall of the keep, a paved passage 85 cm wide. On these slabs lay large pieces of tiles. Beyond this paved passage, there is a 63 cm thick wall, parallel to the east wall of the keep but extending to the north.

The upper part of the perimeter wall, 4 m from the base, is only 1 m wide, while its base is 2 m wide, providing a 1 m wide passage along the south wall of the keep. In this passage, a heap of irregular stones has been observed, which could be the traces of an earlier state of the surrounding wall. The wall of the keep, well fitted in all its visible part, seems to be glued to the surrounding wall.

In the current state of research and observations, the following hypothesis can be put forward:
* the perimeter wall, which is about 2 m wide and apparently attached to the round tower, was partially destroyed at the same time as the latter,
* The exterior cladding has been redone, on the site of the tower and to the east of it (behind the keep): it is in fact the same construction. In its upper part, the wall was only rebuilt to a thickness of 1 m. One might think that this is a cost-saving measure, but the walls of the keep, behind the perimeter wall, are 4 m thick.

Maybe it's a walkway? The perimeter wall would then be preserved for almost its entire height. It can be assumed that a low wall may have existed at this point because the very steep slope of the hill must have made an assault almost impossible from this side. The square keep is said to have been built around the same time. It would have been leaning against the inside of the perimeter wall. A key, nails, tiles and a few shards have been unearthed.