Ruins of Cestres

 

The well-maintained stone buildings in the Bois de Cestres site are medieval sheep farms from the 14th century, between 1323 and 1417 which depended on the Abbey of Saint-Seine, probably under the name Bordes Gaudot. The Hundred Years’ War and the Black Plague are responsible for their being abandoned in the early 15th century.

 

Archaeological excavations from 2003 to 2011 revealed a hamlet consisting of two farms with gardens, a bread oven, a large barn and a well-cistern 300 meters away from the site. The permanent installation was brief, important though because of its economic value due to the selling of sheep wool. The buildings had stone walls, slate roofs and housed about twenty people. In the end one farm was transformed into two lime kilns intended for the construction site of Saint-Seine abbey church.