Invented in the 12th century, real tennis is at the origin of all modern racket and bat games (including tennis). Its golden age extended from the end of the 15th century to the first part of the 17th century. Around 1600, Paris had 250 courts, while in the 19th century there were only a dozen left in the entire country.
In around 1630, Louis XIII had a real tennis court constructed next to his palace. This short real tennis court, or "tripot", a complex work, is attributed to the architect Philibert le Roy. It comprises a court and living quarters for the master paumier (ball maker).
The excavation has unearthed the complete plan of this court, which has the form of a large rectangular building (33 x 14 m). The floor of the court is of dressed limestone slabs (28 x 30 cm), perhaps preceded by a ceramic tile floor. The presence of galleries on three sides indicates this was an indoor court. The large wall of the fourth side is greatly disturbed by deep underground passages dug during the construction of the Grand lodgings by Louis XIV, destined to house the "service area" of the castle (kitchens, etc.).

The role of the master ball maker was essential. He gave lessons, refereed, organized tournaments and corded rackets. He also made esteufs, playing balls composed of balls of cork covered with a band of tissue and enveloped in two pieces of felt, whose stitching is at the origin of the design of modern tennis balls. In the house of the paumier, or in its latrine, archaeologists hope to discover objects related to this activity: waste from the fabrication of esteufs, pilotas, balls, etc.

Other than the real tennis court created in 1681 in Marseille for the Count of Castellane, and studied in 2007, no others have been the object of archeological research in France until now.

Several burials from the Middle Ages (8th to 11th centuries) probably belong to a parish cemetery. The courtyard of the Grand lodgings is adjacent to the ancient Saint-Julien church. This discovery reminds that Louis XIV's royal palace covers a modest village which has its own history.

Under Louis XIV's courtyard, the enclosure wall of Louis XIII's palace.
Archaeological test pits under the Royal Courtyard, in front of the principal façade of the palace, have supplied new information concerning the wall round the outer yard of the first palace whose position was decided by Louis XIII himself.
The discovery of two parallel enclosure-walls, two towers and the extremity of the commons provide us with the first ever measurements of the outer-yard, which was 100 feet (33 m) wide. The towers and enclosure-wall contribute to the representation of power, they were feudal and still had symbolic power which is why they were integrated into the new project in the first half of the 17th century

Mahaut Tyrrell
Media communication
Inrap, Cultural development and communication
01 40 08 80 24 – mahaut.tyrrell@inrap.fr

Sophie Jahnichen
Cultural development and communication
Inrap, direction interregional Centre – Ile-de-France
01 41 89 75 51 – sophie.jahnichen@inrap.fr

The "Grand Versailles" project, launched in 2003, will last for 17 years and cost 400 million Euros. It is the largest project undertaken here since the reign of Louis-Philippe.
There are four themes: restoring the palace's splendour, updating the protection of both buildings and visitors, better presentation of the site as well as improving working conditions and how visitors are welcomed.
The Grand lodgings was built by Jules Hardouin-Mansart from 1682 to 1686. It was an annexe which serviced the palace and contained offices as well as quarters for the staff. Transformed into an arsenal in 1793, then a school during the Restoration, it became a military hospital from 1832. In 1996, the building was handed over to the Versailles agency.
Today, the rehabilitation of the Grand lodgings is part of a larger project to restore the appearance and the functions that the palace and its outbuildings had during the 18th century. All employees of Versailles will be transferred there, thus liberating vast spaces in the palace that can then be reopened to visitors.

www.chateauversailles.fr

Émoc (Etablissement Public de Maîtrise d'Ouvrage de Travaux Culturels), is a government agency Created in 1998, after the EPGL (Etablissement Public du Grand Louvre) and the MIGT (Mission Interministérielle des Grands Travaux de l'Etat) were merged, it answers to the Ministry of Culture and Communication.