One foot in the Dourbie valley, the other in the Trévezel (day 1)

8 points of interest

• 

  

  Trèves

  
  From Tabrî, meaning “village close to the water” in the Chasséen culture (Baume Lairoux, La Verrière, etc.), which lay on the trade route between the Gabali tribe, the coast and the Arecomici tribe. It was given a wooden bridge by the Romans, occupied first by Arian Visigoths and then by Nicene Christian Franks, and destroyed by Muslims around 730. It was revived in the Carolingian period with its Romanesque bridge, and was loyal to the Kings of France, who granted it a consuls’ charter in the 14th century and the bell on top of the church, which had remained Catholic. In the 17th century, Trèves had hemp fields, whose hempen cloth was used in the draperies in Lodève. Its blue sheep’s cheese, its galena mine and its terraces of almond trees and lentils belong to the past. Only the Pétassou  (local pagan character and festival) remains (M.MOULINIER, historian).

• 

  

  Treves

  In Antiquity, the village square was a cemetery. The name Trèves is believed to derive from the Gaulish trebo – meaning 'village' according to some sources or the Celtic water goddess according to others – or perhaps from trivium, crossroads... The track going over the Roman bridge at Le Trévezel, restored in the 18th century, was in fact an important road in Antiquity. There is another hypothesis if you consult Boissier de Sauvages' 1820 dictionary, in whose opinion Treva or Trebo are Occitan words referring to phantoms or spirits. You might well be tempted by this version once you know the history of the Pas de Joulié cave described below! (B. Mathieu)

• 

  

  Box (Buxus)

  Boxwood and humans: a long relationship! When livestock farming increased, the primeval oak forest opened up and box – which is too hard for sheep's teeth – took hold everywhere. Humans discovered one of its major qualities: broken up and scattered over the ground as a litter, it protects vegetable seedlings from drought and frost. Its leaves can make up for a lack of straw for fertilising arable land. In 1818, a decree issued by the prefect of the Gard department worried about the excessive clearing of box groves and the messy manner in which they were being uprooted, without adequate tools. Until about 1910, you might see mules laden with enormous bundles of box; then chemistry took over. (B. Mathieu)

• 

  

  Open-sky geology

  The granite and schist (slate) that constitute the bedrock of the Cévennes and Causses were created in the Paleozoic. The bedrock was then flattened by erosion and covered by the sea, leading to limestone deposits. On the reliefs, erosion has eliminated the sedimentary top layer while in zones of subsidence, such as the Causses, the limestone deposits remained in place. Since then, waterways have cut ever deeper into the limestone, and continue to do so today.

• 

  

  Typical grasslands on limestone soil

  This small area of grassland is one of the rare open spaces on the Causse de Canayère. It is of interest for the preservation of certain flower species, especially the pasqueflower and several varieties of orchid. To counteract the natural progression towards more closed environments, this site is maintained by regular mowing.

• 

  

  The hamlet of Espruniers

  This hamlet, which consisted of a sizeable grouping of houses, was inhabited until about 1930. You have stopped on what was probably the threshing floor for grains.

• 

  

  The Dourbies gorge

  The path comes out on the Dourbie gorge. Opposite you, the western part of the high granite plateau of the Lingas joins up on its right with the limestone plateau called Causse de Larzac. On your right, you can see the granite dome of Saint-Guiral. Closer to you, in the vales that converge on the Dourbie, are the former crop terraces, pastureland, the village built on the riverbank at the valley’s widest point and finally the chestnut orchard. You are seeing the upper limit of its range, which corresponds to it maximum altitude in this zone (800 m).

• 

  

  Dourbies

  The village of Dourbies was built on a ridge to maximise the flatter soils for cultivation. Farming having declined in the valley, fields that were once cultivated have now been urbanised, and broom heath is invading more and more land.