The future A19 motorway from Artenay to Courtenay, will cross 101 kilometres of the Loiret. This gigantic project in one of the richest archaeological regions in France has provided an extraordinary research opportunity. 250 archaeologists of the Institut National de Recherches Archéologiques Préventives worked here for 18 months in advance of, and sometimes at the same time as, the construction work. Their discoveries reveal the great adventure of the men and women who lived here from the Palaeolithic to the end of the Middle Ages.
All periods are represented and new episodes of the history of the Loiret have been uncovered. In a field, a Neolithic habitat awaited discovery. Further along there was a vast Iron Age "farm". A few kilometres away, next to "Caesar's way", there was a Gallo-Roman villa. Then a medieval cemetery. And a surprising underground gallery in which to hide during the Hundred Years' War. The result of this work is a new map of the history of the region.
The work of archaeologists is long and difficult and can seem unrewarding. But their efforts are compensated by the history that is taking shape. In the light of the results of thirty or so excavations, within the 2,500 hectares tested, the lives of the people who inhabited the Loiret take on epic proportions.
Day after day, from March 2006 to June 2007, Stéphane Bégoin (Le roman de l'Homme, Les chasseurs cueilleurs de Namibie hier et aujourd'hui, Naissance du langage et origine des langues, Les premiers paysans du monde…) followed five excavation teams, the true heroes of the film, as they worked meticulously to record this archaeological heritage. With sensitivity, the camera captures the discovery of artefacts, follows the hypotheses formulated by the researchers, and relates the archaeological sites to both the built heritage and the magnificent landscapes of the region. Numerous reconstitutions and computer graphics recreate the original built architecture of the sites found.
All periods are represented and new episodes of the history of the Loiret have been uncovered. In a field, a Neolithic habitat awaited discovery. Further along there was a vast Iron Age "farm". A few kilometres away, next to "Caesar's way", there was a Gallo-Roman villa. Then a medieval cemetery. And a surprising underground gallery in which to hide during the Hundred Years' War. The result of this work is a new map of the history of the region.
The work of archaeologists is long and difficult and can seem unrewarding. But their efforts are compensated by the history that is taking shape. In the light of the results of thirty or so excavations, within the 2,500 hectares tested, the lives of the people who inhabited the Loiret take on epic proportions.
Day after day, from March 2006 to June 2007, Stéphane Bégoin (Le roman de l'Homme, Les chasseurs cueilleurs de Namibie hier et aujourd'hui, Naissance du langage et origine des langues, Les premiers paysans du monde…) followed five excavation teams, the true heroes of the film, as they worked meticulously to record this archaeological heritage. With sensitivity, the camera captures the discovery of artefacts, follows the hypotheses formulated by the researchers, and relates the archaeological sites to both the built heritage and the magnificent landscapes of the region. Numerous reconstitutions and computer graphics recreate the original built architecture of the sites found.
