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Chapitre D'ouvrage Année : 2021

Providing stone for building in Troyes (Middle Ages, Modern Period). Choice of materials and transport

Approvisionner en pierre à bâtir les chantiers troyens (Moyen-Âge, Époque moderne). Choix des matériaux et transport

Résumé

The geographical situation of Troyes, in the alluvial Seine plain hewn from Turonian and Cenomanian chalk, meant that the hard limestone required for the construction of monumental edifices was supplied from outside of the area. The proximity of chalk quarries made this a quintessential material for the building of Troyes. The volumes of chalk used were considerable, be it in the walls, the foundations, the vaults, or as a wall filler. Hard limestone quarries were located near to Chaource and Bar-sur-Seine. They supplied the building sites of Troyes in the 13th and 14th centuries, before being abandoned. Limestone was once again used at the end of the 15th century, and on a massive scale for the building of the city’s fortifications in the 16th century. It was also necessary to use better quality stone, which had to be brought in from faraway quarries. “Tonnerre stone” came from two adjacent quarries, close to the hamlet of Angy, a few miles from Tonnerre (Yonne). This white limestone was used as dressed stone, for pillars, windows and rose windows, as well as for statues. It was predominantly used in the monumental construction of Troyes from the 14th to the end of the 15th centuries. Savonnières stone was extracted in the quarries of Savonnières-en-Perthois and Aulnois-en-Perthois in the Meuse. We find references in the accounts of the cathedral and the fortifications at the end of the 15th century. Like “Tonnerre stone”, masons used Savonnières stone for cladding and windows. According to written sources, stone was mainly transported over land over short distances but also to supply stone from the quarries at Tonnerre and Savonnières. It was time-consuming—the carters often lived halfway between the quarries and Troyes—and expensive—transport costs could account for 80% of the total cost of the stone. It was of course possible to use forced labour, as the cathedral chapter did in the 16th century. The stones removed from the quarries located on the Seine upstream of Troyes were also delivered by cart, up until the 16th century. With the fortification works, there was a change in transport methods. Faced with the considerable volumes necessary for the re-construction of the city wall, river transport grew. A royal text of 1510 planned for the river Seine to be made navigable, between Bar-sur-Seine and Troyes. From then on, deliveries of stones from Bourguignons and Courteron were only made by boat. Two ports were located upstream of Troyes, in front of the “prey aux toilles” and at the porte de Croncelz. The port of Saint-Jacques served points downstream from the city. Transport over long distances—either overland or by river, and sometimes at high prices—did not seem to be an obstacle in the choice of the stone used in military, civil and religious monumental constructions.
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Dates et versions

hal-03601490 , version 1 (08-03-2022)

Identifiants

  • HAL Id : hal-03601490 , version 1

Citer

Cédric Roms. Approvisionner en pierre à bâtir les chantiers troyens (Moyen-Âge, Époque moderne). Choix des matériaux et transport. Claudie Odille; Marie Marty; Vincent Riquier. L'Aube, un espace clé sur le cours de la Seine. Actes du colloque ArkéAube, Troyes, 17-19 sept. 2019., Conseil départemental de l’Aube; Éditions Snoeck, pp.106-117, 2021, 978-94-6161-641-8. ⟨hal-03601490⟩
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