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The
mining of the stone quarries at Les
Baux de Provence dates back to the antiquity
period , when at this time the stone was used for
local dry masonry construction . This soft stone, rich
in hard limestone, was later mined by the Romans
in open-pit quarries. Due to the facility with which the
stone can be worked and sculpted it was used for heavy
brickwork but also for decorative architectural
elements such as pillar capitals and archways
for some of the many monuments in the nearby
town of Arles.
Over time
the open-pit quarries, which produced a lot of waste, were replaced
by underground mines where the stone was more consistent
and much easier to work. Once the stone is cut and worked
to
the desired shape it ages well with weather acquiring a hard
and flat surface.
The quarry
known as “Caves de Sarragan” was mined for close on two centuries.
In the beginning it was mined via a 25 metre shaft located
on the west side. At this time the only lighting used
was oil lamps. One of the reasons why this mine was preferred
was its constant temperature of between 14°
and 16° Celsius , especially during
the winter periods when the icy Mistral wind would blow.
Much later
the gallery, which connects the mine with the exterior, was
dug out to enable the installation of mechanical
equipment. The stone blocks were now mined using a digging
bar to trace the corner holes followed by sawing
and squaring off of the block using diverse
soft stone tools. The stones were then transported
to their sometimes distant destinations by ox
drawn cart and further by barge. These destinations were
originally in the region around Lyon and later as far as Algeria.
Wine
which originally came to this region with the
arrival of the Greeks in Marseille and has been growing
ever since on the hillsides of the Alpilles. Today
the quarry at Sarragan located next to the "Caves
de Sarragan” is the only working mine in operation. It uses modern
day equipment to replace
the once 300 quarry workers who
worked in the mines of les Baux during the great period of
manual
mining.
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