Madam the Mayor of AUBUSSARGUES;
Aubussargues: History - Prehistory - the population Wishes of the Mayor the forest Return welcome page site The Mayors Aubussargue's slaughters
Leaned with the hill, sheltered mistral, directed in the south on the plain, Aubussargues has a remote past. The many prehistoric vestiges that one finds a little everywhere attest it, in particular around the farmhouse Moïse where it is announced a workshop of flint size as well as to the Cantagal locality where, in 1865, hypogean gave place to excavations : Craniums of a young woman and a young man were collected associated with ceramics, arrowheads, flint knives.
Later, the Romans occupied the territory and it is Albucius, owner of the
Romaine villa which gave its name to Aubussargues.
Aubussargues was called in ;
- 1381 : Albussanicis Villa,
- 1384 : Albusanicae
- 1547: Aubussargues
Aubussargues was, before 1790, of Viguerie and the deanery of Uzés. The
priory Saint Pierre d' Aubussargues was with the collation of the Bishop of
Uzés.
The Seigniory of Aubussargues belonged in turn to the families De
Vergèze, De Joybert, D' Andre. The castle of Aubussargues always belongs to
this family ; It is nowadays a second home, the last member of the family
having lived the castle was Vicontesse d' André.
The castle was burning several times ; in 1710 during the wars of
religion, in 1793 during the Revolution. In 1897, a fire caused by the lightning
destroyed significant documents year 1000. (source noble strongholds of the
ducal castle of Uzés, Lionel d' Albiousse, 1907). The last fire goes back to
1944, at the time of the rout of the troops of occupation.
Municipal freedoms with respect to the local lord develop. As far back as 1317, Aubussargues has its Consuls (Mayors or City council men of today). Among them, Reymond De Lacroix in 1642, Reymond Lacroix in 1674, André Lacroix in 1716, Etienne Lacroix in 1729. In 1669, they are three : 2 modern consuls, Messrs Jaquin Dumair and Pierre Nouet and 1 old consul, Sieur Jean Lacroix. Compois (register of the properties and owners ) of 1669 for which M Reymond De Lacroix was in charge of the estimate goods, counts 84 owners living Aubussargues, 2 of Uzés, 4 of Nimes, 1 of Saint Mamert, 2 of Arpaillargues, 9 of Garrigues, 2 of Collorgues, 1 of Serviers. If one takes for base a population of 4 persons by family, that gives approximately 300 inhabitants, without counting those which do not have anything. Since 1945 and the granting of the voting rights to the Women, these is three ladies which are elected with the Town council of Aubussargues: Mesdames Deleuze Marcelle, teacher, Chalier Emma and Jouffre Maria, joint of farmer, 40 years at the time; 95 years in year 2000, always present with her 4 children, 8 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren and 1 great grand-daughter's daughter.
The smallest
piece of ground is exploited ; olivettes, vines... Little by little, the
landscape changes. To gain place, the peasants clear, remove the stones of the
fields, pile up them in edge (clapas, huts or capitelles), build terraces (work with
valla ; digging of a ditch where one buries the withdrawn stones of the
field to
leave on the surface only the ground being able to produce),
delimit their fields with dry stone low walls. If the landscape changes, the
toponyms were transmitted and one finds nowadays : Faïsses, Boudouse,
Rajol, Conil, Holy Peyre, Missargues, Cazaril, Massargues, Crémade, the Rock,
Arboussières, Cantagal, Montescaud...
One finds this economy of space in the village. Built on a compact limestone, in extreme cases of the alluvial plain and scrubland, it leaves thus free the agricultural land. He also changes. In 1669, the grand' street passed to the north of the current village. The principal street, which today crosses the village of is in west appears to have been created towards second half of the 18éme century, with the sight of the dates registered on the lintels of the houses. Last installation being its prolongation, after having crossed the place of the Church, by the demolition of a house in 1904 allowing the random access to the Temple. In the south of the place of the Church was installed the old cemetery, given up following the creation of 2 cemeteries (1 Catholic and 1 Protestant, joined together today) in 1859. The streets are narrow. The dwellings are located at the 1er stages. At the ground floor, after having passed a porch one is often in an interior court with each side of the cellars, handing-over. Formerly in fact common passages made it possible to go easily from north to the south of the village. The installation of these ground floors in rooms by some tourist in evil of idea often lead them to complain about a new moisture...
With the passing of years, the territory of Aubussargues continues to be worked. At the end of the 19éme century, it is decided establishment of a forest in the north of the commune, with the Massargues locality. Rare privilege in the area, this one is planted leafy trees and conifers and is subjected to the management of "water and forêts ". In the years 1880, a railway line, the line of Uzés with Saint Julien is envisaged. It will cross the forest of Massargues after having crossed the territories of Uzés, Montaren, Serviers. A report of the Mayor of the time, Mr Mathieu, shown state of fears of Aubussargois the railway line to upset the economy of the forest. A forest " of exception from the point of view as of the its topographic situation, nature of its ground, of its natural fence, faculty to drive out there, of its installation and advantages which it offers to the owners for the faucillage grasses, the pruning of wood, the pasture-ground of big and small cattle, the heathers for the communal furnaces, products of the ordinary and extraordinary cuts ". Mister the Mayor precise; " We were on our premises, in a practically closed park, our big animals and our herds with the shelter of the danger; the quiet pasture-ground, exploitation and the draining of our easy wood, our well regulated cuts; convenient and pleasant hunting...All these advantages will disappear and in their place we will have our parcelled out or wedged cuts, our terrified animals, and in consequence of the losses to be tested; the more cases of fire, and by their fact of the lawsuits with soutenir".
I do not know if the small ones and large cattle were terrified with the sight of the trains with vapor but with regard to the fire hazard, fears proved to be real. Several fires were unfortunately caused by the trains with vapor, because of the ashes very often rejected by the mechanics of these machines. Morals is however safe. The railway was closed down, the removed rails, only remains the platform of the way, transformed into path. The vegetation took again its rights and the commune of Aubussargues, expropriée at the beginning of the century repurchased the grounds with the SNCF there is a score of years.
The enumeration of 1384 allots to Aubussargues 6 fires (either 6 families; it should be specified that this enumeration took place after the epidemics of plague, of which the first, said great plague, was spread as of 1348). Population through the âges
Prehistoric site of Aubussargues : It is located at the west of the river Bourdic. One described there arrows of javelin, arrows foliaceous, discoidal scrapers, borers, saws and pottery decorated with garlands grooved or pastilles the opening of the river Bourdic through the relief of coast which crosses its higher basin of the plain of Gardonnenque constitutes a privileged site where the Prehistoric ones found at the same time water and flint. To the North-East of the village of Aubussargues, on left bank of Bourdic, to the confluence of this river and from a dry ravine, comes to die tightens it of Montescaud (Montescaou) whose long croup rises to the old smallholding of Juston. Under the Second Empire, a score of years before the revelation of the first flagstone
one discovered with the foot of Montescaud, the district Cantagal, a sepulchral cave, considered initially as a dolmen, which gave place, in 1865, with excavations within the framework of the preparation of the archaeological Dictionary of Celtic Gaule. At the time of the excursion of March 15, 1866 were collected shards of pottery, fragments of flint, the craniums dolichocéphales of a young man and a young woman, osseous hardware piled up in a narrow corridor associated with arrowheads, with knives. On a sketch of the site, deposited with the museum of natural history of Nimes, Emilien Dumas, geologist of Sommières indicate several caves. Being given the site, it is probable that the cavities were discovered during the installation of fields in terrace. Lombard-Dumas, son-in-law of Emilien Dumas, reconsidered the spot in 1879, note that the cave disappeared, without compartment following the construction of fields or of the road of Serviers (Departmental 136), built on the same level.
Hypogée of Cantagal with Aubussargues :
Excavated in 1865, this hypogean gave place to no relation as for its architecture and the provision of the skeletons and furniture accompanying them. According to Camille Hugues, one can suppose that it was dug in a tender bank framed by 2 hard layers, here of limestone sannoisien. Lombard-Dumas appeared 2 decorated cylindrical muds of grooves in garland and métopes. A dagger and pearls metal are announced. One also indicates grooved pottery, lips incised punts, a full ear and a handle in roll as well as incised shards with vintage.
The
hypogean ones of Aubussargues and Uzége are in obvious connection with habitats
of full air established on the same spot. In Aubussargues, where it extended on
the greenhouse from Montescaud dominating Cantagal, the continuous carpet of
scrubland invading with oak-kermes (avaous) mask today, on the Western slope,
the field of Louis Velay says
Martin where the archaeologists of 1866 collected a series of shards of
pottery, flint and polished axes out of hard stones, supplemented in 1879 by a
beautiful arrowhead of Lombard-Dumas. Part of the nipple is strewn with plates
with rough flint. Emilien Dumas saw a Celtic oppidum there. Camille Hugues, of
the French prehistoric company, reports the station to Chalcolithique, the
beginning of the age of metals, habitats troglodytic, like the majority of the
habitats and workshops rich in flints which, of Saint-Dézéry with
Arpaillargues, mark out the heights in the west and the east of Aubussargues.