Fouille archeologique préventive, Institut National de Recherches Archéologiques Préventives

Press release
October 21, 2010

Contacts

Mahaut Tyrrell
chargée de communication médias
Inrap, pôle partenariats et relations avec les médias
01 40 08 80 24
mahaut.tyrrell@inrap.fr

Estelle Bénistant
chargée du développement culturel et de la communication
Inrap, direction interrégionale Grand Est nord
03 87 16 41 54 – estelle.benistant@inrap.fr
Press release / Last press release / 2012-2010

Medieval Tanners of Troyes

On line since January 14, 2011 · Updated October 25, 2011
A team of archaeologists from Inrap is at present excavating, curated by the State (Drac, Regional Archaeological Service, Champagne-Ardenne), part of the mediaeval history of Troyes. On the occasion of a project for the extension of the Hôtel du Département by the Conseil Général, 2000 square metres of an important urban area are being excavated. During the Middle Ages, this quarter was under the authority of the nearby Abbey of Notre-Dame-aux-Nonnains, one of the oldest religious congregations of Troyes (7th century) which exercised the rights of High and Low Justice. The mention of a Pava tanneria in 1288 suggests the presence of tanneries in this area. Archaeologists are at present bringing them to light.

The conquest of the marshland by the tanners (12th century)

Urbanised from the year 25 BC, ancient Troyes, Augustobona, was built on a marshy zone and an alluvium tongue of a meander of the River Seine, at its confluence with the River Vienne.  Until 1910 its low relief left the city at the mercy of the whims of the river and of its tributary. In the field, the archaeological deposits correspond to the three major periods in the history of the town: Antiquity, the 12th century AD and the Middle Ages (16th century).

The conquest of the marshland was carried out in the 12th century, thanks to economic measures undertaken by the Comtes de Champagne. Henceforth the ditches of a new enclosure were fed by water diverted from the Seine and the groundwater table level was lowered. Inside the city, mills and workshops were established on channels. Merchants and artisans settled on the new spaces won from the marshland. The first tanners’ workshops and cobblers’ stalls appeared in the 12th century. This activity was still testified in the early 19th century, by place names such as « Les Bains de la Tannerie » and streets called the « Petite » and « Grande Tannerie ».

The Tanners’ yards

Three workshops, now being excavated, reveal the medieval techniques of leather production using raw hides and skins bought from butchers.  Large rectangular basins of a capacity of 2 to 2,5 m3,, dug out of the ground and consolidated by sides of interlaced willow, are arranged in series. They are sometimes associated with cylindrical vats made from barrels intended to stock ash and tannin.  The larger basins were intended to receive the raw hides, which were then soaked in an alkaline mixture of water and ash, the time needed for the complete removal of hair and other extraneous materials.  After a clear water cleansing in the canal, the hides were soaked in smaller basins containing a strong concentration of ground oak bark, to strengthen and fashion the leather.  Because of the contact with tannin the wattles of these basins are very well preserved. In spite of some knowledge of the technical process gleaned from the Encyclopédie of Diderot and D’Alembert, the possible specialisation of the workshops of Troyes and the origin of their leathers remains to be determined.
The excavation of a ditch has supplied a lot of information: shallow, 2m wide, this outlet carried an impressive quantity of leather off-cuts mixed with many worn-out objects (shoes, belts, gloves …). Further downstream, almost twenty carcasses of the horse family were found, mostly those of donkeys.  Their proximity to the tanneries raises many questions, in particular the treatment of these animals whose meat was forbidden several times by the Church during the medieval period.

Medieval dwellings (13th-15 centuries)

Over a depth of more than one metre, archaeologists have found hard earth floors of medieval houses. The houses and outhouses were built on a wooden framework isolated from the ground by large blocks of sandstone.  A clogging of stones and terracotta materials prevented the intrusion of rodents inside the dwelling. The use of flat tile is testified from the late 13th century.
During this period the urban islet was divided by a narrow channel, with its banks consolidated by a multitude of stakes and oak sheet piling. The distribution of the constructions inside the two islets was not very dense. Many spaces are still open to the street (courtyards, gardens, and workshops).  Two constructions face-to-face have caught our attention. They are dwellings whose imposing hooded chimneys and terracotta hearths confirm the importance of cooking at this epoch. 

Today, the excavation of this quarter reveals a little known aspect of the history of Troyes during the Middle Ages.

Financing

Conseil général de l’Aube

Scientific control

Service régional de l’archéologie (Drac Champagne-Ardenne)

Site director

Gilles Deborde, Inrap

Photos album

  • general view of the site looking towards the Church of Saint-Urbain (13th century) 
    general view of the site looking towards the Church of Saint-Urbain
    (13th century) 
    © Denis Gliksman, Inrap
  • wattled bottoms of basins intended for the tanning of hides (oak bark) (14th-15th centuries)
    wattled bottoms of basins intended for the tanning of hides (oak bark) (14th-15th centuries)
    © Denis Gliksman, Inrap
  • detail of the wattled bottoms of basins  
    detail of the wattled bottoms of basins
     
    © Denis Gliksman, Inrap
  • detail of the wattled bottoms of basins  
    detail of the wattled bottoms of basins
     
  • Clearing of wattles of the tanning vats (14e-15e centuries)
    Clearing of wattles of the tanning vats (14e-15e centuries)
    © Denis Gliksman, Inrap
  • Large ditches for the removal of hair from raw hides before tanning (14th-15th centuries)
    Large ditches for the removal of hair from raw hides before tanning (14th-15th centuries)
    © Denis Gliksman, Inrap
  • Cut leather remnants thrown into the 12th century ditch
    Cut leather remnants thrown into the 12th century ditch
    © Denis Gliksman, Inrap
  • Stakes delimiting the corridor of the water channel serving the tanneries from the 13th century onwards.
    Stakes delimiting the corridor of the water channel serving the tanneries from the 13th century onwards.
    © Denis Gliksman, Inrap
  • Stakes delimiting the corridor of the water channel serving the tanneries from the 13th century onwards.
    Stakes delimiting the corridor of the water channel serving the tanneries from the 13th century onwards.
    © Denis Gliksman, Inrap
  • Stakes delimiting the corridor of the water channel serving the tanneries from the 13th century onwards.
    Stakes delimiting the corridor of the water channel serving the tanneries from the 13th century onwards.
    © Denis Gliksman, Inrap
  • Base and location of a chimney of a 14th century dwelling
    Base and location of a chimney of a 14th century dwelling
    © Denis Gliksman, Inrap
  • Excavation of carcasses of the horse family (donkeys, mules …) inside the 12th century ditch.
    Excavation of carcasses of the horse family (donkeys, mules …) inside the 12th century ditch.
    © Denis Gliksman, Inrap
  • Excavation of carcasses of the horse family (donkeys, mules …) inside the 12th century ditch.
    Excavation of carcasses of the horse family (donkeys, mules …) inside the 12th century ditch.
    © Denis Gliksman, Inrap
  • Carcasses of the horse family abandoned in a brook (12th century)
    Carcasses of the horse family abandoned in a brook (12th century)
    © Denis Gliksman, Inrap
  • Animal skull of the horse family
    Animal skull of the horse family
    © Denis Gliksman, Inrap
  • Sole of medieval shoe made of worn-out leather (late Middle Ages).
    Sole of medieval shoe made of worn-out leather (late Middle Ages).
    © Denis Gliksman, Inrap
  • 13th century stone cooking mortar (for grinding of spices and apothecary preparations)
    13th century stone cooking mortar (for grinding of spices and apothecary preparations)
    © Denis Gliksman, Inrap
  • Late 13th century terracotta jug
    Late 13th century terracotta jug
    © Denis Gliksman, Inrap
  • Glass smoother for the finishing of leather (12th century)
    Glass smoother for the finishing of leather (12th century)
    © Denis Gliksman, Inrap
  • Terracotta head, 13th century element of decoration.
    Terracotta head, 13th century element of decoration.
    © Denis Gliksman, Inrap
  • Stump of medieval tree (trunk and roots) in a peat stratum.
    Stump of medieval tree (trunk and roots) in a peat stratum.
    © Denis Gliksman, Inrap

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