Montchauvet, also known as Mont Chauvet, is a mountain located in the Margeride massif, reaching an altitude of 1,485 meters in the Haute-Loire department. This mountain is notable for having been inhabited since the Neolithic era and during the Middle Ages.
| Montchauvet | |
|---|---|
  Montchauvet France | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 1,485 m (4,872 ft) |
| Coordinates | 44°55′08″N 3°25′22″E / 44.91889°N 3.42278°E |
| Geography | |
| Location | Haute-Loire, France |
| Parent range | Margeride (Massif Central) |
Toponymy
editIt is known in medieval texts as Monte Calvo, meaning the "bald mountain."[1]
Geography
editLocation
editIt is located in the commune of Saugues, with its southern slope extending into the commune of Grèzes, in the Haute-Loire department.[2]
At its summit, a panorama allows for the observation of the Mézenc massif, the Devès, and the Mounts of Cantal.[3]
Biodiversity
editEncircled by a beech forest, the mountain features heathland with ling heather, blueberries, and raspberries in the summer.[4]
Montchauvet is one of the Natura 2000 sites known as "Sommets et versants orientaux de la Margeride."[4]
Village of Montchauvet in the Middle Ages
editThe deserted medieval village of Montchauvet, rediscovered since the first archaeological work in 1965, was inhabited between the 10th and 15th centuries.[5] The village, built on the slope of Montchauvet, is surrounded by terraced fields, indicating the expansion of agricultural land.[6][7] It appears to have not survived the Little Ice Age, the Great Plague, and the Routiers who plundered the strongholds and villages of the Archpriest of Saugues after the Treaty of Brétigny in 1360. This slope of Montchauvet is also home to two other smaller deserted villages.[8]
References
edit- ^ Collection de cartulaires dauphinois (in Latin). N. Schevring. 1891.
- ^ IGN maps available on Géoportail
- ^ "Montchauvet (1484m) par Servières (Saugues) - Randonnée Monts de la Margeride - Saugues". www.altituderando.com (in French). Retrieved 2024-05-22.
- ^ a b "FR8301079 - Sommets et versants orientaux de la Margeride" (pdf).
- ^ Base Mérimée: Village médiéval déserté de Montchauvet, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
- ^ "Le village médiéval de Montchauvet n'a pas révélé tous ses secrets (deuxième partie)". France Centre. 2020-06-27. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
- ^ "Le site archéologique du village médiéval n'a pas révélé tous ses secrets (première partie)". France Centre. 2020-06-26. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
- ^ Mouthon, Fabrice (2017), ""Mais où sont les neiges d'antan ?"", Le sourire de Prométhée, Hors collection Sciences Humaines (in French), Paris: La Découverte, pp. 70–96, ISBN 978-2-7071-9097-0, retrieved 2024-05-22