A thirteenth-century decay near Bordeaux comes from the ground

Special Envoy to Villanov-D’Ornan

The wood is permanently moistened. Under the 5 meter high tent, the temperature rises and the air is rarely breathed. Buried underground for nearly thirteen centuries and protected from weather variations, this ship was at risk of early heat wave. “If the tree dries up, it will rotLaurent Grimpert, head of the INRAP (National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research) and excavation site, summarizes. The team’s archaeologist usually went near the ruins and watered the tree with a hose. “There is a certain contradiction, Laurent Grimbert mentions. We cannot work without water, but in order to work and inspect the ruins we must destroy it and create a dry environment.

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Excavations resumed last April at Villeneuve-d’Ornan (Girondே), a few kilometers from Bordeaux. Decay was discovered in 2013, during a normal diagnosis – before any development work, the law recommends