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| Alexander "Indy" Jones |
A toi, Alex !
Gold… Silver… Precious Gems… searching for ancient treasures is what I absolutely love to do.
Come with me, Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen on a treasure hunt through the clouds to my favorite place in the south of France where ma Nanny lives.
We’ve wound back the clock 5,000 years to when prehistoric man roamed the plateau.A vast canyon, the Cirque de Navacelles dominated by the landscape which is dotted with caves formed in the limestone rock. This is where prehistoric man used to live. With this limestone rock prehistoric man made their tools and weapons and even today you can find their arrow tips and axe heads if you know where you dig and I must certainly do!Can you smell the scent of wild thyme and lavender that fills the air of the flat windy plateau which is covered with prehistoric burial sites, menhirs and a massive circle of standing stones.
Even today, prehistoric burial sites are still being discovered and I’m hoping that my next trip there in September to become known as the next great archaeologist after Indiana Jones, of course, and discover even more ancient treasures !
Now, if I don’t discover any prehistoric treasures then I will wind the clock forward 3,000 years and travel to Nîmes in the time of the Romans.Amongst the cobblestones of Nîmes stand the Roman Arena built in 70AD in the reign of Emperor Augustus. This is the best preserved Roman arena in the world even better than the Coliseum in Rome.
If you close your eyes while standing in the tunnels under the seats and listen carefully, you can almost hear the roar of the lions and see the ghosts of the gladiators fighting for their lives. This is where I will begin my search for Roman swords and coins.
Falling to find any Roman treasure I will fast forward 1,200 years after the Roman to the 13th Century and, now the south of France is a very different place. The Knights Templar had belt castles and churches to protect themselves from their enemies and from those seeking their legendary treasure !
La Couvertoirade, where I shall start my search for their lost gold, is a small, well preserved medieval city with narrow, winding lanes, soaring walls and ramparts which has been a place of shelter for hundreds of years (1).
Here, in the graveyard among the ancient tombstones engraved with Crusader markings, I am sure to find what I am looking for…
Despite all my best efforts, if I fall in my quest for Templar gold and prehistoric and Roman treasures, I will just have to settle for the best that France has to offer in the 21st Century……
Baguettes, French chocolate and a good red wine !
NDLR: The “good red wine” is for Nanny, of course. Baguettes and French chocolate are for you, Alexander. Right ?
Nanny rappelle que le Cirque de Navacelle est une dépression formidable dont la region est inscrite au patrimoine de l'Hunanité de l’UNESCO et que La Couvertoirade, vivait paisiblement de l’agro-pastoralisme. A la destruction de l’Ordre templier il passera aux Hospitaliers.A la fin du Moyen-âge, ce village isolé sur le Causse devra se fortifier pour se protéger des bandes de routiers. (D’après Nanny)..
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From le Vigan With Love, a very proud Nanny, Anne-Marie
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