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The Troglodyte Houses

Why is this place so important ?

Troglodyte dwellings are houses that have been carved into the rock. They demonstrate how the inhabitants of Les Baux used their rocky environment to develop their village. These houses also have a splendid view over the valley of Les Baux.

Courtyards area

The troglodyte houses form a district, mentioned in the sixteenth-century cadastres as the ‘Baume de Roucas’. In Occitan, ‘Baume’ means a grotto and ‘rouca’ means ‘rock’. Hence, it was a district of rock dwellings, which must have resembled those in the second basse-cour, or lower courtyard.

In detail

The attractive honeycomb pattern of weathering illustrates the effects of atmospheric corrosion on the rock face.

 

Did you know?

These houses attest to the ingenuity of the inhabitants of Les Baux, who used the stone to make their houses more functional: shelves were hewn, fireplaces cut into the rock, and projections created for hanging up equipment and drying ham.